Lost Memories
by quxxn-lou
Summary: Riley Love lived a less than pleasant life in the 21st century, but she doesn't even remember it. She has no recollection of her past but is unwillingly given the strength to live on and fix a world that doesn't belong to her. Once transcended into the realm of destructive beasts, she is forced to fight in a world different from her own with a mission that not even herself knows.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan. I own my OC and her backstory, but the rest of this story is fiction about Attack on Titan (that I do not own have rights to) and the story. **

* * *

**Riley Love**

_Not once had it occurred to me that my life had purpose in this world. Perhaps it was because it didn't. For purpose in this dimension, my value falls short. It would take a different world, a new universe, to truly feel like my life had meaning, and that every breath I took would be for a greater cause; A cause that could change the world for the better. _

**Two Hours before the transportation **

"Tch."

I grip my index finger in my right hand in an autonomic reaction to the kitchen knife that had stained my skin with a light crimson. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was enough to momentarily cease my dishwashing to place my finger into my mouth. I quietly pray thanks that my blood hadn't stained the fine china next me, as lord knows how much these things are worth.

"I absolutely hate my job."

I work as a housecleaner, which is probably the most lackluster job for a 20 year old, to make ends meet. Although it's a shitty job, it keeps food on the table and pays the bills. If it weren't for my father's passing, we would be more well off. However, he died two years ago in the Marines, in some third world country that was surely mentioned yet slipped past my traumatized mind. Life today fills me with too much melancholy, and I never pay mind to details like I used to.

After three or so hours spent sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, polishing, mopping, scrubbing, and even getting between every floor tile with a toothbrush, the house was deemed clean enough for me to leave. Even though I seem tedious with my work, I detest cleaning with a passion. Life is too short to clean with so much vigor, and my room is personally tousled with clothes and beauty products. But if I wanted to earn the amount of payment I needed, making sure there isn't a speck of dust is my best bet.

Thankfully the homeowners of this place trust my skill enough to pay me beforehand, so I didn't have to wait for the couple to return from their stupid, pretentious banquet. So instead, I rush over to the coat rack, taking my jacket and my leave. I make sure the door is locked behind me before stepping out into the brisk winds of early winter. Then, I pull out my extremely out of date iPod, whisking the earbuds out of my pocket as well.

"Looks Like it's just me and you," I sigh. My fingers instinctively scroll to the Imagine Dragons album, where Polaroid plays at a medium volume so I can hear the world around me, you know, just in case some robbers or molesters are out and about- not like I can even defend myself anyway.

The walk from this wealthy neighborhood to the rundown apartment complex where we live is about five miles, so nearly a two hour walk. The warm, rich tones of the sunset were quickly fading to a blue, darker hue, signaling I need to walk faster. If you walk in my neighborhood at night, it gets pretty sketchy.

My small feet leave light sounds as I tread the sidewalk. I silently curse at my mother for giving me her short genes, making me weak and fragile in this cruel world. Yes, this world is a cruel place, and even though I'm privileged to live in a first world country, I can't help but think of the negatives in this world- particularly death. Why do we have countless wars against ourselves for what seems like miniscule reasonings. Fighting for land? We're all one race, so why can't we share the land? Fighting for resources? We can literally share resources. Fighting for peace? That statement is redundant in itself.

The human race is selfish. We have the power to be the highest being on the planet; to be the top of the food chain. There are no immediate threats around us besides natural disasters and ourselves, so why are we out here killing each other instead of working together for a greater good? Maybe I'm asking too much. I'm not one to speak, as I'm human myself. I don't take extreme measures to save the environment or protect things that go beyond my life. I can't afford to.

Within the catacombs of my philosophical thoughts, I hardly realize that I'm only a mile or so away from home. I'm one step closer to my younger sister and mother, both whom I have tended to the past couple of years. Mom has gone into a mindless state ever since Dad's passing, and ever since her dysfunction, she has had no mindset to try and get out of bed, let alone get a job. Though she's supposed to be the motherly figure in our lives, Avery and I took over the parental roles, me more my sister, seeing as she is only eleven years old.

Eventually, my feet carry past the last strip of the shopping area I have to pass in order to reach the rundown apartment complex I am almost ashamed to call my home; the final dangerous part of my trip consisting of the alleyway. Though I never had any troubles walking past the alley on my way home previously, my mojo just seems off this night, causing waves of anxiety to course steadily through my veins. In a bittersweet fortune, my gut doesn't tend to steer me wrong, and this time is no excuse.

My eyes were set on the lights of the complex just less than a mile ahead, so there was no time for me to react nor see the shadow of the person who grabs me by the hood of my coat, pulling me into the depths of the shadowed side street. The air hitches in my throat as the person presses me firmly against the wall, the impact forcing my eyes closed. _God, that hurt…_

"You." Their voice is full of grated cogency, their strong grip establishing they have the dominant standpoint of this confrontation. I try to force my eyes open to see the harasser, but I'm too weak to manage even the simplest of tasks. They continue on, ther grip tightening on my wrists.

"L-Let me go!" I cry, though my words fall on hushed ears. Already I feel the effects of some sort of soporific substance radiating off the person trapping me, forcing me to be drowsy and unstable.

"You…" the person repeats, their voice too indistinguishable for me to determine if they are a man or woman. I try to resist with whatever strength I have left, my thoughts turning to my mother and Avery, who is waiting for me to walk through the doors of our home at any given moment...The person continues, ignoring my petty struggles. "I've been here for too many years, you see? I'm not from here, and I can't go back to my world without a host. They told me I couldn't…"

"W-What…" my words begin to slur, and all I can do is droop my head against the wall pathetically. Their voice becomes blurrier as each second tics by.

"If I'm here any longer, then I will disappear from all forms of reality as we speak. I have to get back… There's no cure here. No cure to solve the issues of my world. They were wrong." They continue on, their grip loosening on my frail body. _I can't open my eyes… _"I have to bring back someone to fight for humanity, and I'm forced to rely on you. I'm fading away as we speak, so you have to be the one to save humanity, alright? I can't die!"

Before more words ensue, I can vaguely hear the attacker rummaging around through a bag, their hands fumbling against some sort of clanking metal. Though I'm feeble and on the brink of fainting, the sharp injection of something into my arm causes me to let out a vexed scream, one so loud that anyone in our radius will be able to hear. My eyes widen at the sharp pain, and that's when I catch sight of the insanely large needle slammed into the crease of my arm, a thick liquid quickly being injected into my body. Another scream falls from my lips, the pain absolutely excruciating.

"This will make you strong," the person says quietly over my distress. When my eyes flash to them, I have no clear sight as their face, seeing as everything is distorted, and their hood covers all of their face. "You have to fight! Fight until there's no reason to fight anymore. If you die, they will kill me, you hear? DON'T DIE!"

"WHY?!" I scream my last breath of energy, my eyes squeezing shut once more. "WHY ME?!"

"I'll have to tell them that you're the cure, that's why!" They shout. "I have to lie to them so I can live! Can't you see?! They sent me here with the last of their power to find a cure for our world, but there is no cure! You have to become the cure, for my safety! For humanity's safety!"

_Don't die. Don't die...Don't die...Don't...die…_

"_FIGHT!"_

* * *

Shit…

Vision is out of the equation, but my other heightened senses make up for that fact. Sharp pain stabs my lower ribcage, the feeling almost indescribable. I felt myself gripping at the location of the burning sensation, only to feel more pain.

God, I am an idiot.

I'm fortuitously conscious long enough to open my eyes, but it doesn't do me much good with the darkness of my surroundings. Wait...Where was I?

Once my eyes adapt to the lack of lighting, I realize that I'm outside, surrounded by trees. The sky is dark, with cloud covering a majority of the night sky. Confusion starts to set, and all I can really do is lay in this forest and try to gather my thoughts. Unfortunately for me, they seem to have gone haywire.

"_My name is Riley Anne Love…" _I begin in my head, trying my best to focus amongst the pain. "_I'm twenty years old. I… I live… My family… I can't remember...who I am." _

The crashing blast of thunder distracts me from my distressing thoughts. I have no time to think about my life and who I am. Not while I'm in this kind of situation. I'm trapped, with nothing but possibly fractured ribs, lack of clothing for this cold night, thunderstorms, and the chance of being miles away from any source of civilization.

Tears start to well in my eyes, softly leaking down my abraded skin without consent.

I'm so scared and disoriented, and I don't know what the hell to do.

_For starters, Riley, try to find shelter or people. Use your Goddamn logic, unless you can't remember that you have that, too. _

I shake my head before trying to sit up, only for my lips to cry out with a pained yell before I collapse back to the ground. The pain takes more than a few moments until it subsides enough for a second attempt. This time I move around a bit slower, making sure to take my time as I stand up. The feeling is agonizing, but nowhere near as excruciating as it was my first failed attempt.

_Next step; try to stand up. _

I go against all the warning signals my injured body fires me with and try to stand. The process takes another gaudy amount of time, consisting of me slowly rocking onto my knees, and placing my hands on the ground as a support to slowly push myself up with. A small whimper escapes my lips as I lean against one of the stout trees.

God, it feels like someone is kicking me with a steel-toed boot. Repeatedly.

_Just breathe through the pain, Riley. Breathe. _

My eyes dart down every possible path I can take, but the attempts seem futile. Every path looks the same, and there are no lights in the distance to signal signs of human life.

What the hell is going on? The gaps in my memory are immeasurably frustrating. How do I know just my name, my age, and nothing else? Is this what amnesia feels like? Is it a feeling that makes you want to do nothing but cry?

The tears don't want to come out.

What kind of person am I? Am I serious, funny, carefree?

Right now, I'm better off dead.

_Maybe you can find footprints in the ground. It seems pretty muddy, and now is the time before it starts to rain. _

I grit my teeth as I try to push off the thick tree without crying out as loud as I have previously. I must be quiet because honestly, what kind of people would be out here?

No. I have to throw the idea of being tortured or worse out the window because I will simply die out here if I don't get help. My state of being is probably a solid four out of ten, and that's pushing it.

Shaking the thoughts away, I peer down at the ground in hopes of catching a glance of _something_. The ground is very dark, but eventually my eyes adjust enough to see that there are not, in fact, human footprints. However, my luck hasn't run out. Hoofprints, specifically horse prints, litter the ground beneath my feet. By the looks of it, there are a lot of horses. A lot of horses in the middle of a random forest means that, most likely, they are being led by people. And they all seem to be pointing in one direction.

Grudgingly I allow myself to press forward, against all of my body's wishes. I figured the pain would subside as I adjust to walking, but it does the opposite. Sweat starts to trickle down my forehead, but I endure on.

It's probably a mile of walking whenever the tears start to form again, like my body is crying for me to stop. But I keep going. I scream, cry, moan, and curse. The decent pace I was going at is practically at a halt now as I begin to hobble. I barely make it to the two-mile mark before I collapse on the ground. The fall winded me as well as amping the pain levels up to unbearable.

Just as I'm about to faint, my eyes dart towards the shimmer of light up about a quarter mile ahead. Hope begins to fill me before quickly switching to dejection. There's no way I'm going to make it that far. No, not with the spots forming around my line of vision. All I can do is cry out, praying that someone will be able to hear my pleas before fainting.

**Year 849, Survey Corps Headquarters**

**Levi**

"Commander!" A soldier whom I have yet to allot the time to be familiar with knocks on the door of Commander Erwin's office frantically before rushing inside, ignoring common formality.

If this isn't an emergency, he'll be taken care of later.

The young soldier notices Erwin and me casually sitting, coming to the realization that he had just interrupted our discussion before apologetically saluting. "My apologies, but there has been a woman found a quarter mile outside of headquarters!"

"A woman?" Erwin questions, sitting up straighter. I observe his inquisitiveness before letting out a sigh, placing my teacup on the desk in front of me.

"Yes, sir!" the sweating soldier replies, nearly making me roll my eyes. There's no need to shout in a room as small as this, but it's obviously been ingrained from years of training. "She was found unconscious by me and Lockwood! She seems to be injured and-"

"Would you quit yelling," I mutter, placing my fingers to my temple. The soldier darts his attention to me before standing up straighter, obviously intimidated by me. At this point, I'm used to it.

"I'm sorry, Captain!" He begins to shout, but then he notices my increasing agitation and says a bit quieter, "I'm sorry, Captain… I was unsure if we could take her in to be medically evaluated, since we don't know her intentions."

"Does she seem like a threat?" Erwin asks, making me let out a humorless breath. As if a woman who's injured and unconscious would be deemed as a threat.

"No, sir…" The man continues, dropping his salute. "She's dressed in just a shirt and pants, and there is some blood seeping through, but not enough to deem severe. She isn't wearing a uniform and doesn't seem to be dressed undercover."

"We can never be too sure," Erwin mutters as he peers down at the papers at his desk; information for our next expedition. "You and Lockwood can take her to the infirmary. We'll be down shortly with the other section commanders to discuss further action."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier respectfully salutes, earning a nod from Erwin to dismiss him. As soon as the man walks out, I glance over at Erwin.

"I don't know any sane person who would be in the woods this late of night," I comment. "And there's no way someone would sustain injuries as he explained with a simple fall."

"Perhaps she was running away from someone, or something," Erwin says in thought. "Or maybe it's an act. You never know the intentions of the government or military police at a time like this."

"This would be a weighty act," I mutter, looking down. I ponder for a moment the options. I then shake my head before standing up, following Erwin's movements. "But sitting around and guessing won't do anything. We should ask the culprit herself."

"Get Mike and Hanji," He orders. I nod my head before dismissing myself from the room.

It's been repetitive between expeditions. Our main goal is to lay down supplies from Trost District to Wall Maria's Shiganshina District in preparation to seal the breach caused by titans and reclaim Wall Maria. Each expedition has been concluded with too many deaths, forcing us to retreat. Until we reach the next outpost with supplies to set up our logistics base, this will be a constant battle. And it's only a matter of time before the Colossal and Armored titans return to invoke damage and havoc to humanity once more.

So to say that a random, battered woman crawled her way to us without any other information linked to her does in fact spark some interest. In about five minutes, I find Hanji and Mike and inform them of the situation. Mike perks up but remains serious, while Hanji leaps up out of excitement. Annoying.

"I wonder what kind of information we can get out of this girl," she immediately begins to question everything beyond the stars. "Could she have appeared out of nowhere? I wonder if she knows any information from the day of the attack-"

"Shut up, shitty glasses" I utter before turning around to walk away. They both follow, and I grudgingly have to deal with the insane woman and her words until we walk down the corridor leading to the infirmary.

When we enter, I see the doctor and a couple of nurses, as well as Erwin, surrounding the bed that contains the woman. Erwin turns once he hears our presence, a serious expression engraved on his features. He seems unsure of what to do.

"Her ribs seemed to be fractured, but not to an extreme extent," The doctor informs. I look over at the bed, still unable to see the body with all the people surrounding it. "It should take only a couple of weeks to heal at the most. She's only bleeding due to falling on a sharp rock, but the wound isn't deep and isn't a major concern."

"Why is she unconscious?" Mike asks. The doctor gives a small smile. One that is full of pity.

"She must've came a long way to find someone, and that someone is us. Most likely, she fainted from the overwhelming amount of pain."

"So her injuries aren't from contact with others? Or an animal?" Hanji chimes, placing her hand against her chin in thought.

"It seems like she fell, judging by the areas of injury. From where she fell? It would have to be a tree or a ledge."

"When is she going to wake up?" Asks Erwin, inspecting the girl. By now the nurses have moved out of the way, allowing me to take in the young woman in the bed. Her eyes are closed, but I am able to notice her pale skin and strawberry blonde hair spewed about in messy in wisps against her pillow and heart shaped face. She looks to be petite, most definitely smaller than me. She doesn't look familiar, nor does she look intimidating.

"Probably in the morning," the doctor concluded. "Until then, we'll keep an eye on her and inform you when she wakes up, Commander."

"Thank you," Erwin nods dismissively at the doctor. He lets out a small sigh once the staff is out of earshot, turning around to face the three of us. "When she wakes up, one of us will need to interrogate her."

"I'll do it," Hanji says with a closed eye smile. "Surely we don't want to frighten her with Mike's sniffing and Levi's well...Levi."

"What if she needs to be intimidated?" I retort, taking my eyes away from the girl. The shitty glasses waves her hand at me in dismissal, making me scowl.

"Let me do the work," she persists. "If we need to take it to that level, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Alright," Erwin nods. "We'll let the nurses take care of the night shift. You're dismissed until tomorrow morning."

Erwin walks out of the room, and I'm the first one to go back to my indifferent stance.

"Ohh, I'm so excited to learn about this pretty girl!" Hanji squeals, putting her fists in the air. I roll my eyes at her irritating outburst. "Let's hope she's on our side! Maybe she's a soldier? You never know- we need all the people we can get at this point!"

I just ignore the woman. I give a nod at Mike, who returns one back. Taking one last glance at the girl, I simply shake my head and take my leave.

_You better not cause any trouble._

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**This is my first Attack on Titan Fanfiction, and I am a romance kind of writer, so some scenes will contain humor and some OOC moments (though I will try my best to write the A.O.T characters to the best of my ability). I like cheesy, I like love, but I will try not to stray far from the style of the show. There will be chapters that are silly and mainly for entertainment, but there will also be chapters quite serious and full of tension.**

**This is a LevixOC fic, and as of right now, it is rated T. As it progresses, I'm not sure if I will make it rated M, as I'm not sure if I will include sexual content (though I'd like to experiment with it). What do you guys think? Leave your responses!**

**I wrote this story for myself because I love the show and characters, and if I had a chance to transport myself to this universe to meet my favorite characters, I would. So yes, I want to share with you this story because it makes me happy writing about it, and hopefully it'll make you happy. I appreciate criticism! Please offer tips or ideas with my writing and what I could do to better myself as a writer!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N": Thank you for the follows and kind reviews ^-^ ! Keep in mind, this is a LevixOC Fanfic, though it's a bit of a slowburn. The plot of the story takes a while to begin (based on the chapters I have pre-written). These upcoming chapters focus on Riley and her time mingling with the characters, so I'm sorry if you want action and intense plot-driven chapters. **

**This story is for me to pretty much place myself in the AOT world, and I love character development and friendship and goofy things, so there will be a lot of that here :) Don't worry, the action will pick up, it'll just be a while.**

**Ah, I feel like I'm trying to defend my writing when I shouldn't, I just struggle with confidence... I wrote this for fun, but now seeing that people take an interest, I feel the need to critique myself over everything (which is both good and bad).**

**Either way, enjoy :)**

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**Chapter 2**

I don't remember much of what occurred from the time I fainted to now. Funny, I can't remember much in general. Once again, it takes me a while to open my eyes as I adjust to being conscious. What I manage to feel is a bed of some sort beneath me, as well as the feeling of something constricting my chest a little bit… Is it bandages?

Suddenly I'm slammed with all the memories of the forest, making me gasp. My eyes shoot open as I hurry to sit up, but I'm restricted by my own pain. My ribs start to ache, and I let out a small whimper before falling back onto the mattress.

With my inability to get up, I'm forced to use my eyes to survey my surroundings. I see nurses off in the distance conversing about something written on the clipboard. There looks to be about twelve beds in the room, with six on either side. There are a few injured men across from me, either wincing in pain or knocked out. Finally, I turn my head to my right. I'm unable to hold my scream whenever I'm met with the face of a woman grinning down at me in glasses.

"Holy shit!" I curse hoarsely, pushing my head back into the pillow are far it can go. "Who are you?!"

"I was going to ask you the same question." She smiles warmly, though I take it as creepy considering she's inches away from my face. "I'm Hanji Zoë! I'm a section commander for our squad."

"Squad," I mumble once my breaths start to calm. The woman-Hanji- notices her close proximity and finally sits back in a chair placed right next to my bed, adjusting her glasses against the bridge of her nose. "Squad...Like the military?"

"Exactly like the military!" She replies, seeming happy that I know that. "You're in the Survey Corps Headquarters."

"Survey Corps?" I'm no longer scared for my life, but rather apprehensive with my circumstance. "What branch is that? Doesn't sound familiar. Marines? Navy?"

The grin on her face falters, and I notice her sit up. Did I say something wrong? At least I can remember the military, despite not being able to recall anything besides general information about myself. Hanji clears her throat.

"I don't know what military you're thinking of," she speaks a bit more seriously now. "We're a branch of the military that goes outside of the Walls for combat and observation. Right now you're in Wall Rose. The only other branches are the Garrison Regiment and the Military Police. Do you know any of this information?"

"I…" I falter for a moment. The Walls… Military… It's super vague, almost as if I knew it, but it wasn't a part of my world. "I remember mentions of walls… Something protecting people inside of it…"

"Yes!" Her expression brightens once more. "I was beginning to worry you weren't familiar. Either you have lost all of your memory, or you're not from inside of the walls, which is impossible! Well, maybe not impossible right now. Those titans had intelligence, so perhaps there are-. Oh! Before I continue to blabber on about all that stuff, I suppose I should learn about you."

"Learn about me?" I furrow my brows in confusion. "How so?"

"Well, tell me everything you know about yourself," She answers while leaning forward. Obviously she doesn't care about boundaries. "We can start out with your name."

"I'm Riley Anne Love," I say confidently, knowing my name for certain. Why I'm giving out this information for a stranger, I don't really know. I suppose I should comply considering I'm in no immediate danger at the moment. "All I know is that I'm 20 years old."

"That...That's it?" She looks down quizzically, letting out a small hum. Her head snaps up quickly, though. "What about the situation we found out in? You were in the outskirts of the forest where two soldiers found you. You seemed to have crawled your way for a bit. Were you running from something?"

"No," I shake my head. Bringing my hands to my temples, I let out a wavering sigh. "At least, I don't think so. I just remember waking up, in the middle of the forest. I started walking to help because I heard thunder. There was no way I would make it in my condition."

"So you found your way to us?"

"Yeah," I mumble. Everything is fuzzy, and I can feel a migraine coming on. "I found horse tracks and decided to follow, since there were no sign of human ones anywhere. I followed my intuition and ended up a bit away from here. That's all I remember before blacking out."

"Interesting…" Hanji fixes her glasses once more before standing up. I wearily look at her, but she ignores my expression. "I'm going to bring the commander down."

"The commander?" I try to sit up but wince, earning a pitiful smile from her. "W-What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing bad, if that is all you can remember," she attempts to reassure, but it doesn't work. If I remember something else, will I be hurt? Do they not trust me? I have no time to question Hanji further, as she is already out the door before I can open my mouth.

I lay back, a frown etched on my face. Of course they're not going to be friendly towards me. Assuming that they actually are part of the military. Yes, all of the information she shared does have a sense of familiarity with me, but not enough to feel like I am a part of any of this. It's as if everything is a dream rather than a vague memory. I don't even have time to think about it due to the nurses that come up to me, questioning how I feel and informing me of what was wrong with my body. My ribs were in fact fractured, but only mildly. Thank God, I don't know how much longer I can go with this sharp pain. In the midst of taking a giant pain-relieving tablet given to me by one of the nurses, the door opens up to reveal Hanji and three other men.

The tall blonde one seems to lead the way. His hair is slicked back, and his extremely thick eyebrows are furrowed in concentration. By the looks of the way he carries himself, he must be the commander. A tall and well-built man enters next. The bangs of his blond hair are parted down the middle, and he has a dark mustache and beard. His nose is tilted up, as if he were sniffing his surroundings. Lastly, a man enters with short, straight black hair styled in an undercut, as well as narrow, intimidating dull blue eyes with dark circles under them. He is quite short (though not as short as me), but his physique is well-developed in musculature. They all look intimidating, even Hanji with her serious expression.

"Greetings, Riley Love," The tall blonde man says with a stern, deep voice. I immediately feel like I should salute him or do push-ups or something. He's that intimidating. "I'm Commander Erwin, the 13th commander of the Scout Regiment."

"Hello," I say quietly, nearly quaking under the sheets. I'm left at a loss for words, but it seems to be expected from their unchanged expressions.

"This is Mike Zacharius and Levi." He nods over at the other two men, and I easily associate the names with their faces, as it suits them. "Hanji informed us of the information you have provided. Are you sure there's nothing else you can remember?"

"N-no, sir," I say quickly in hope to appease him. I really didn't know anything else, and I didn't even really know about what Hanji told me. "Everything is blurry. I don't know what's going on or who I am, besides my name and age."

"How do you remember just your name and age and nothing else?" Mike questions, seeming apathetic. "If you can't remember anything else, surely you wouldn't be able to recall your name."

"I can't remember anything, yet I can still talk and describe things," I fire back, a little angered that they were skeptical of me. Sure, they have every right to be, but not to my face.

"Sounds a little too perfect to me," Levi scoffs. I divert my attention to him, noticing his calm yet indifferent demeanor. His expression is unreadable, and his eyes are practically empty besides the small sliver of doubt that any normal person would fail to catch. "How do we know you're who you say you are?"

"I don't even know who I am!" I sit up, only to be met with a sharp jab to my chest. I gasp in pain, gritting my teeth. The nurses come up to me, but I ignore their presence. "Who would I be? A civilian at best! Seems like you're as in the dark about this as I am!"

"Tch. You're already getting on my nerves," he scowls, folding his arms.

"Yeah, you're pissing me off too." The words slip out before I can regret them, and I already know that I messed up.

"We're just trying to figure out what you were doing in the woods," Commander Erwin says to try and ease the tension, but he's honestly just making it worse. "You were a couple miles outside headquarters with no backstory. It seems questionable."

"I apologize, but you think I'm a spy or something?" I ask him, bewildered at the accusation. When I get no response, I shake my head, letting out a breathy laugh. "Well I'd be a shitty one, wouldn't I? I already failed whatever the hell I'm supposed to be doing."

"I would watch your tongue," Mike threatens, already stepping in. He seems to be guarding the commander. As if I can do any damage.

"What are you gonna do with me?" I say with a glare. "Kill me?"

"If it comes down to it," he spits, eyes burning with hostility.

"We're no strangers to infiltration," the commander comments, making me let out an exasperated sigh. "It's hard to trust someone who claims to know nothing about themselves."

"What are you guys hiding?" I ask, honestly curious as to why they would suspect me to be an infiltrator.

"As if we would tell you," Mike scoffs, shaking his head. Levi and Hanji just watch, with Hanji looking nervous and Levi looking how he has been since I met him.

"Look," I sigh, shaking my head. I put my hands underneath my blanket, feeling chills. "Thank you for helping me when I was desperate, but-"

Before I could say another word, I could feel myself being picked up by my shirt and slung against the wall. Immediate pain racks my entire body, and I feel like all my bones are breaking. Everyone suddenly takes defensive steps back, surprised by Mike, who was pinning me against the wall, his face inches away from mine.

"What is the meaning of this!" Erwin yells at the man that is holding me. "Mike!"

"She reached under her blanket!" he shouted, spit flying into my face. "She could have been reaching for a weapon. She could-"

"Fuck off!" I yell, taking them all by surprise, including myself. Before I can even react, my bodily instincts take over. I harshly grab onto Mike's bicep, pushing him back with a strength that is far beyond what I thought I could manage. Once he's a few feet away, I place both hands against the same arm, violently pushing my momentum. With a strong pain in my ribs, I manage to flip him completely, and he falls onto his back on the wooden floor.

"Send me away for all I care!" I shout, tears brimming my eyes. All of them, including Mike, look completely shocked at my actions, but I'm too emotional to care. Instead, I just fall to my knees, slumped against the wall with no more energy in my body. "Please… I just want to go home. I don't even know where or what home is… please."

I don't even bother to look at them, sensing the tension in the room. In all honesty, I have no idea how I managed to flip a man, who is twice my size, with my fractured ribs. But at this point, I don't care. Thankfully I don't cry because that would make things a hell of a lot worse. I'm surprised that I wasn't being tackled again with the stupid thing I just did. Looking up, I see that Mike is still on the ground but sitting up a few feet away, Hanji and Levi have their arms crossed, and Erwin just gives me a harsh look.

"We're sending you to Trost, since you are unaware of where you live," he says simply. I sniffle, tilting my head up. "Whether or not you're a spy or a mere damsel in distress, we can't let you stay here when we have soldiers that need to be prioritized."

"Damsel in distress my ass," Mike spits, rubbing his arm. I almost want to laugh but can't.

"Fine," I mutter. "Maybe I'll find people there that would want to help me rather than assume that I'm a villain."

"You'll be dead before someone would help you," Levi scoffs, making me glare. Could he screw off with that stupid facade he has going on? "Most likely you'll be in a refugee facility eating half a loaf of bread a day."

The moment he mentions food is the moment my stomach starts to grumble. Of course they all hear, and I blush out of embarrassment.

"We can provide you a meal before you leave!" Hanji finally chirps, pointing her finger. "It's the least we can do…"

I raise my eyebrow at her generosity and how quick she manages to be nice after I tackle one of her comrades (with ease) and disrespect those in command… not like they deserve my respect after their treatment of me. Still, I am thankful for Hanji. It's as if she actually _does _believe everything I tell her. Most likely, she has to go with what the majority of her colleagues believe is right.

"One meal," Erwin agrees calmly. "Then we'll leave for Trost."

* * *

**Levi**

The carriage ride didn't take long, as Trost isn't far from Headquarters. However, the ride seemed pointless in general. It was just Erwin, the woman, and I. She sat across from the two of us, looking directly out the window, either in deep thought or fear. I could see that she wasn't fond of me, but I'm truly indifferent. If she is a spy or whatever the hell the government is spewing our away, she'll be dead in less than a few hours. Whatever "mission" Erwin and Mike were inquiring about, she obviously failed, and higher-ups do not take that lightly. However, she seems too emotional to be a crook, even too emotional for acting. I'm simply trusting Erwin's judgment on this situation.

By the time we reach the shelter that she will be placed in, she is slightly shaking, though obviously trying to hide it. Perhaps she's afraid of dying, but maybe due to different circumstances. Either way, she will be out of our hair. As annoying as I found her with her outbursts and emotions, her strength seems unnatural for her injuries and size. An idiot could see the potential she would have in combat, so I know Erwin has this in the back of his mind.

"This is where you'll be getting off," Erwin speaks up after the few hours of silence. The girl jumps slightly. God, she's worse than a baby kitten. "There should be someone to check you in when you enter the building."

"Gee, thanks," she mutters, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I'll get welcome cookies and a nice bed. Maybe a doctor, too! Ya know, so I won't heal like an old man."

"Quit stalling," I retort. She glares at me, but it's nowhere near intimidating. "You're lucky we've been this kind to a stranger."

She looks like she is about to let out another snarky remark, but her reaction falters. Her eyes no longer reveal anger, but rather an understanding. I glance over at Erwin to see that his scowl has disappeared as he notices as well.

"You're right," she says simply, sitting up in her seat. "The situation was a shitty one, and I'm sure you're doing what you feel is right. Thank you for tending my wounds. Thank you for letting me explain my situation. Thank you for feeding me, and thank you for letting me flip your friend to the ground. It was all needed, and I'll be sure to remember it."

"Love," Erwin says her last name hastily as she opens the carriage door. I give him a look, bewildered that he would try and say something to her before she leaves.

"I need to go lay down," she says dully, not turning around. "I'm in a lot of pain right now. Goodbye, and good luck with your expeditions."

Before he could say another word, she shuts the door, limping down the carriage steps. I can tell she's biting back the pain better than other soldiers do. The moment she's out of sight, I see Erwin visibly sigh. The horses then move forward, signaling that we are truly leaving her behind.

"If she is killed off within two days, we will know she isn't part of any operation," I state after about a mile. I know this is what is going through his mind at the moment. "They always kill whoever fails."

"We need as many soldiers as we can get," he remarks, placing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "She has a talent not found in a hundred men. A strength stronger than many whenever she is injured."

"But we know nothing about her or her background."

"Is that really a bad thing?" Erwin asks, turning to face me. "I know you're good at reading people like this, Levi. What do you truly think of this woman?"

"The brat has talent that shows potential, at least from what I could observe from her movement and strength. Perhaps equivalent to those in military training, considering her move was flawless despite her injuries," I begin as I lean back, placing my arm on the rest to my left. "Yet I trained myself with vertical maneuvering equipment and was proficient, so she may not have had any proper training."

"More than proficient," he chuckles, and I nearly crack a small smile remembering the time where I had wanted to kill him in order to regain my freedom from the underground. Of course, there are too many haunting memories to be rejoiceful.

"So she could have a natural gift," I continue. "And even if she was trained, I genuinely believe she is truthful with her lack of memory. I know Hanji will want to get her hands on this woman based on how crazed she was when talking about their discussion with the military..."

I can already tell by the trajectory of this conversation that we will be seeing more of this woman. Just as long as I don't have to deal with the annoying thing, then it'll just be another body to add to the expeditions.

If she is alive after these two days, of course.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_I've heard of shitty customer service, but this is ridiculous. _

The line for daily food rations went on for what felt like miles. The best part? I can't even stand in line to get my food. Being crippled doesn't have many advantages, especially in a place full of refugees. Based on what I have gathered from gossip between victims of the "attack", people have fled from the outer wall, Maria, when part of it collapsed about four years ago. How it collapsed, I'm not sure, but the people seem fearful, and I can sense the dissonance in the atmosphere. Obviously, there's something out there that we're trying to shield ourselves from, but what?

I blink myself out of thought whenever I feel something hit my lap. With blurry eyes and a wave of dizziness, I look to find a small loaf of bread resting in my lap. Peering up, I notice an older, smiling man looking down at me.

"T-Thank you," I croak before cringing. God, my voice sounds awful from the lack of food and water these past two days.

"I couldn't see you starve," the man says with a nod. Before any other words are exchanged, he takes a seat next to me. "You seem to be in pain. May I asked what happened? I haven't seen you 'round here."

"Oh, um," I blush, sitting up straighter with a wince. This is the first person to speak to me since I have been sent to this camp. "I have fractured ribs… They should be healing up faster, but I haven't had any nutrition in a while. And I-I… I lost my memory, so I can't really explain what happened."

"You mean you can't remember anything?" He asks. I take notice of his grey hair and wrinkles, and I feel almost happy, like he's an old relative or something.

"No," I shake my head as I take a bite of bread. It's stale as hell but manages to satisfy my stomach. With a swallow, I continue. "I don't even know what happened to cause all of these people to be homeless. The condition of these people is terrible…."

"Indeed," the man agrees, tilting his head down. There isn't enough room to provide shelter for all of the people, and many are resting underneath the awning of a large building, including myself. After observing, I turn to the man, daring to ask the question, "What exactly did happen?"

"Hmm?" he looks up with a grim expression, as if finally processing my question. "You really can't remember? Maybe it's a good thing you don't. I wish I could forget… forget everything I saw that day."

"I'm left in the dark about everything, including my life," I retort softly. "The least I could know is what is causing this depressing situation."

"Titans," he mutters finally. My eyes widen from the word. "Giant titans… monsters that eat people...monsters that eat us…"

"Titans…" I test the word in my mouth, instantly feeling chills. It sends a strange feeling down my spine as if these creatures directly affected me. "Like...giant people?"

"They're not people!" he shouts, making me flinch. Tears stream down his cheeks, and for the first time, I see someone who looks absolutely dead on the inside. I feel guilty, but he continues. "They come from hell, here to make us suffer. We know nothing about them! Nothing! We thought we could protect ourselves from them, but they proved that they have the control! They have the control…"

I'm not sure what to say back, or if I have anything I actually can say back. Images rack my brain, trying to imagine what these titans look like and how big they actually are. These walls look to be fifty meters or so. Could they really be that big? And some are big enough to break a part of the wall? I can't ask this man another question because I feel so awful...bringing back his haunted memories. Surely he lost family.

_Did...did I lose my family, too?_

Time seemed to pass by faster than my mind could register. I don't remember the old man leaving my side as I fall asleep, bread still in my lap. I couldn't help it. I just feel so weak… My mind ventures to the Survey Corps Headquarters as I dream. I'm hit with a wave of familiarity as I dream of them training. I dream of Erwin, Levi, Hanji, and that Mike guy, soaring through the air. They're fighting someone, or something, with hundreds of soldiers behind them flying as well. Then I see myself, soaring through the sky with an intent to kill. My brown eyes twinkle with strength, but before my drawn back sword makes contact with whatever I was fighting, I'm shaken awake.

"Oi, wake up brat," the voice mutters. I feel a boot pressed to my shoulder and let out a groan. "I didn't expect you to be this pathetic so soon."

I flutter my eyes open slowly, the light blinding. When they finally adjust, I see the legs of a certain soldier. It doesn't take long to meet his eyes since he's so short, but when I do, they're dull and lackluster. Oh great, I love waking up to an asshole.

"What are you doing here?" I grumble, closing my eyes again. "Can't I die peacefully?"

"As much as I would love for that, I've been requested to not let you die."

If I had a pillow, I would cover it over my ears. Even though I'm groggy and frustrated, my heart pounds at the fact that Levi is here after practically telling me to kick the bucket two days ago.

"I said get up," he sighs. I smirk at his frustration.

"I can't get up," I say. "I'm too weak. I haven't really eaten and I haven't had any water since I got here."

"I can tell by how shitty you look." Ouch. "How about you make yourself get up so you can get to the carriage."

"The carriage?" I open my eyes once more, this time more awake. He's still looking at me dully. "I thought I was an infiltrator?"

"Well you're not dead yet," he states. "Either they're letting you suffer to death or you're really just a stupid woman from the woods."

"I'm so honored." I roll my eyes before sitting up straighter. I'm stiff for sure, but I'm able to get to my knees to try and push myself up. He's still just standing there, watching me. "So you aren't going to help?"

"Wouldn't want you to flip me," he jeers. For some reason, I have a gut feeling that he's not actually worried about that.

"Shit," I curse, pushing myself to my feet. I lose my balance immediately and fall against the stone wall, my ribs hurting once again. "You're really making me do this alone?"

"If this is too difficult for you, then you won't survive what we're going to put you through in the Corps"

"Ah," I hum sarcastically. How I'm managing to be bitchy at a time like this is beyond me. "I'm being saved just to die in battle. Once again, I feel honored."

He scowls at me but doesn't say another word. Instead, he orders me to follow him towards the carriage, which is right down the road. Despite the amount of time it takes me to walk towards the carriage, he still stands behind me, as if keeping his eye on me. I don't know whether to feel flattered or fear. Either way, I manage to get into the carriage, with the help of Levi. He seems reluctant or repulsed to place his hand on my lower back to push me up, as if I'm contaminated. Hell, I don't blame him.

We sit on opposite sides of the carriage, and he's just staring at me. I blush and look away, but I still feel holes being drilled into my head.

"Do you like what you see?" I scoff, staring at him.

"Tch. The opposite, actually. You look disgusting."

"Thanks, I was born this way," I say, rolling my eyes.

"I was talking about the filth on your body," he clarifies, finally looking out the window. "Though, now that you mention it…"

I blush again, but this time out of frustration. He's more sarcastic than me. Not a surprise.

The ride takes a couple of hours, just like it had those few days ago. Funny, it feels like much longer. I contemplate the events happening to me, surprised at how much is being thrown my way. Levi is silent as we ride, as if he doesn't care if I am here or not. I wonder what happened to him to make him act this way. Is he always this cold? Or is he different around his peers? He is a captain if I recall. Maybe he has to act this way to maintain his reputation.

"Now who's the one staring?" Levi mutters, still not looking at me. I don't realize that I've been staring at him for about ten minutes until we make our final stop at the Headquarters. I just ignore his comment, hoping I'm not as red as a tomato.

I'm greeted by Commander Erwin, who stands outside the front doors of the castle-like building. He looks the same as before, with his tall stature and slick hair. He's actually very handsome and radiates a trusting aura.

"Hello Riley Love," he says after Levi kicks the door open.

I give him a sharp nod before stepping onto the folding step. I'm about to ask millions of questions, but I don't have the time as the ground rushes towards my face. Of course, out of all the possible times, this is when I pass out. All I see are black spots around my vision, and a strong pair of arms wrap around my waist.

* * *

For the second time, I open my eyes to find myself in the Survey Corps infirmary. Also for the second time, I find Hanji sitting in a chair next to me, but this time, I'm not surprised. Looking out the window, I see that it's dark, meaning I had been knocked out for at least ten hours.

"Hanji," I mutter, earning a small smile as a response. "What's going on?"

"You passed out," she says, stating the obvious. She catches my annoyed expression and laughs awkwardly. "Oh! You mean, why are you here?"

"That would be good to know," I say. "I need to know if I should prepare myself for torture."

"No! No! None of that will be happening!" She quickly defends, sitting up straighter. "In fact! You're going to be living here! We already have your room arrangements and clothes, though they're not very plentiful…"

"So you decided to change your mind about me," I say casually, laying back down in my pillow. Hanji's smile falters for a moment.

"I never had to change my mind. I believed you since the beginning, Riley Love."

"You can just call me Riley," I mumble, pretending her words don't have an effect on me. Truth is, it feels nice to have someone who believes you when the rest of the world is out to get you. "So...now what?"

"Well, the men decided that I should help you shower and change your bandages," she explains, making me mentally shriek. Hanji!? Seeing me naked? She notices my fear and laughs, this time genuinely. "It'll be okay! I won't peek! I've studied the human body for many years."

"Oh...Interesting."

Hanji tends to my needs, informing me that the nurses have to take care of the wounded soldiers now that my ribs are about a week and a half away from being fully healed. All I have to do now is drink plenty of water, wear the bandages for a few more days, and rest. I've already drunk many pouches of water, ate a bowl of soup, and managed to get the dizziness to go away. I'm able to walk to the showers with Hanji, who is carrying a white button down shirt, black pants, and clean underwear. The men and women showers are apparently separated by a thin wooden wall, meaning you can hear conversations from the other side if you speak loudly.

"I'm going to remove your bandages now," Hanji informs once I stripped to my underwear. I'm blushing furiously as she undos the tight binding. Although it hurts a bit when the bandages are removed, I feel like I can actually breathe again, especially with my boobs free to move. "Wow, you have good proportions!"

"I thought you weren't going to look!" I yell, placing my arms around my boobs, though they don't cover much.

"Oh, you'll be comfortable soon enough!" Hanji laughs. "Soon you'll be showering with a lot of women. You'll get used to it."

"Oi," I shake my head at the thought.

I try to ignore the presence of Hanji as I walk over to one of the shower stalls. The only reason she's here is because I'm not supposed to lift my arms above my head to wash, since it might disturb the healing process of my ribs. I look down at my chest and notice the bruising on my body. It seems to be turning yellow, meaning that it's healing pretty well.

When I turn the water on, I'm hit with a blast of cold water, making me yelp. Hanji is just whistling as I'm being tortured with the shower, as if she's seen this all before. Soon, my body manages to adjust to the temperature. I look down at the drain and notice all the dirt, grime, and blood that falls off of my body.

Wow, I really _did _look disgusting.

"Hanji," I say. Her head snaps up, and she adjusts her foggy glasses. "I-er...I need your help washing my hair."

"I'm on it!" she cries, rushing over to me.

Thankfully the crazy lady focuses on just my head, which I am eternally grateful. She shampoos my hair rather painfully, like she doesn't do it often and is inexperienced. But the stench of my body is slowly replaced with a cleaner smell. Once Hanji is done, I use the remaining soap with me to wash my body, careful not to rub my chest too hard. Pretty soon, I am dried off, ready to be re-bandaged.

I slip on the clothes provided for me, surprised that they fit so form-fittingly. Whenever I finish brushing my hair and my teeth (thank the lord), Hanji leads me to the sleeping quarters. I'm surprised that I haven't seen any soldiers, and when I ask Hanji, she says they're all eating dinner in the cafeteria. I'm thankful that I haven't had to see anyone, fearful that I would be confronted about my situation. Hanji notices this.

"We informed everyone about your situation," she informs while opening the door to my room. "Some will be skeptical, but they will be respectful. There are enough friendly faces in here, so you will fit in quicker than you think."

We enter the room, and I'm taken by surprise when I see a girl standing in front of the provided bunk bed, fluffing a pillow. When she senses our presence, she quickly turns around, giving an awkward grin. She looks to be around my age and almost half a foot taller than me. Her dark hair is tied into a low ponytail, and her hazel eyes contrast nicely with her olive skin.

"Hello!" The girl says quickly, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. When she notices Hanji, she places her fist against her chest in a salute, but the crazy lady dismisses her. "I'm Lauren Abel! Whenever I heard that the new girl would be needing a roommate, I quickly jumped on the offer and skipped dinner… I much rather have one roommate than three."

"Each room is usually assigned to four people," Hanji whispers into my ear, and I nod in understanding.

"I'm Riley," I say with a small smile. The apprehensiveness I feel washes away a bit when I see her kind eyes. She looks to be trustworthy.

"I'll leave you girls too it," Hanji says to the two of us, nodding her head before walking out the door. And just like that, I'm left alone with a complete stranger… Well, more of a stranger than the other strangers I have met...strange.

"So…" Lauren claps her hands together, a smile still gracing her lips. "You're the one that threw a squad leader to the ground."

"Is that how I'm known around here?!" I ask, eyes wide. She sees my embarrassed expression and lets out a loud laugh.

"No! You're known as the mystery girl," she says, taking a step closer. "I just managed to eavesdrop on Mike and Hanji during dinner one night. Is it really true?"

"You heard it from the big guy," I say with a shrug, only to wince at the movement. Lauren takes notice and gives me a worried look.

"You can sleep on the bottom bunk since you're injured," she tells me, pointing to the bed. "I already fluffed your pillows and such since you're hurt… Wait- how did you hurt a veteran soldier with a bone fracture?!"

"I blame adrenaline," I say indifferently. She watches as I walk over to the bed and try to lay down since I'm actually sore as hell right now. "In all honesty, I'm not sure. Something just kinda took over me."

"That's so cool!" She muses, rushing over to me. I let her sit at the foot of the bed, thankful that I have someone my age that actually wants to talk to me. "Can you be my bodyguard when you are healed?"

"Bodyguard?" I chuckle softly. "Why would you need a bodyguard?"

"Because the men around here are nasty horndogs," she answers seriously, making me burst out in laughter. It hurt so bad to laugh, yet felt so good. "I'm serious! The only ones I like hanging out with are Derrick and Hagan, and even then, Derrick is a huge flirt."

"Yeah, I'll be your bodyguard then," I say with a grin. "I seem to be a boy repellent, anyway."

"You?!" Her eyes widen. "You're probably one of the more pretty girls I've seen around here in a long time! What with most women getting married off instead of enlisting in the corps and all."

"Pft, don't flatter me," I say dismissively. She just giggles at me, probably because I'm blushing.

"I'll have to introduce you to everyone tomorrow, so you're not alone," she tells me. "I know that this is all probably hard on you…"

"Thank you, Lauren," I say as she slowly stands up. "I'll manage with this whole memory thing. Who knows, maybe one day it'll all come back."

"Yeah!" she chirps. A little too enthusiastically. "Maybe you just need a lot more rest. Enjoy an actual bed for once."

"Thank God," I say with a hint of sarcasm, earning another smile from my new acquaintance. "And really, thank you for being so nice to me… I figured everyone would hate me."

"I couldn't possibly hate someone I know nothing about. Especially someone who doesn't know anything about herself…" she lets out a small gasp. "Sorry! I didn't think about how you're feeling-"

"It's okay," I tell her, my smile faltering. "It's kind of like I have a clean slate to start over if I think about it positively."

"Right." She gives me one last smile before climbing up to the top bunk. "It's nice to meet you, Riley."

"Goodnight," is all I can manage to say.

Tears start to well in my eyes once she can no longer see me. The events of the past three days of my unknown life finally hit me, and now I'm hydrated enough to cry. Praying that the one friend-like person won't hear me, I manage to cry myself to sleep.

_I'll need to remember. I have to._

* * *

**I'm sorry for the late update, I've been tweaking this story and the plot! I've actually changed my original idea and added one that is complicated and full of mystery ;) Stay tuned for later chapters unraveling the mysteries surrounding Riley.**

**In case there's any confusion, Erwin et al. see Riley's potential and want her to join the Survey Corps! Mike might have noticed something more...but you have to wait to find out :) **

**Let me know how you feel about the story so far! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**First, I want to apologize for such a late update. I took a bit of a break to focus on the latter half of my semester, which I finished :) I also have been working on another story that I will be uploading here shortly after this update. The same story is/will be posted on ArchiveofOurOwn under the same username: quxxn_lou**

**I hope this meets everyone's expectations, and I hope you guys leave reviews. I will respond to them, perhaps even mention them in the next update :)**

* * *

Everyone is apparently required to wake up at 6 am every morning, which makes me incredibly depressed. Lauren is the one to wake me up for breakfast, poking my cheek because she is apparently worried about hurting my injury by shaking me, which I suppose makes sense. Apparently, I am not an early riser because I attempt to bite Lauren's finger, making her laugh.

"Riley, if you don't get ready soon, Captain Levi will be pissed," she tells me once I turn my face away. "He pretty much takes over when it comes to training since Commander Erwin is always occupied in his office."

"Let him be mad," I mumble, rubbing my groggy eyes. "What's he going to do? Beat me up?"

"Worse," she leans in close, whispering into my ear. "He makes you clean. For hours."

"Clean?" I finally manage to sit up, much to my body's protests. "What's wrong with a little bit of sweeping?"

"Don't make me laugh," she says with a serious voice. I just give her a weird look, but she flicks my forehead, making me pout. "Captain is very OCD when it comes to cleaning. You never really pass his inspections, but after spending the majority of the day scrubbing your life away, he just gives up."

"Whatever, I'll get up," I mumble, kicking my feet off the edge of the bed. "But only for you."

Lauren flashes me a pearly white grin, and that's when I notice what she's wearing. She's dressed in what looks like the uniform for this branch of the military. The uniform consists of a short, light brown jacket with a badge on both shoulders, on the front left pocket and on the center of the back, a light-colored shirt, a dark brown sash around the waist, white pants, and dark brown knee-high leather boots. The whole getup looks like a heat stroke waiting to happen, and I'm thankful I don't have to wear one today. Then again, I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb.

The walk to the mess hall makes my heart rate accelerate, making me curse my anxiety. Lauren assures me that it won't be as bad as I think it's going to be, but she can't be more wrong. As soon as we enter the doors, I'm greeted with many pairs of eyes, watching my every movement.

"I told you we were gonna be the last ones to show up," Lauren mutters in my ear. I roll my eyes, hating how right she was. Thankfully, she speaks up, yelling, "What are you all staring at? Never seen a woman before?!"

Slowly, the soldiers avert their gazes, though several still have their eyes set on me. All I can do is blush a deep crimson and follow Lauren to the food line, praying I don't trip. There aren't many options, but I do see fresh bread and stuff that looks like oatmeal, so I decide to go down that route. Further down the line, there is a choice between coffee and tea, so I go for the latter. I can't remember the types of food that I used to eat, but something in my system tells me to avoid the coffee.

Lauren leads me to a table near the back corner, which I am thankful for. It's out of the way from a lot of people's harsh looks, and there are fewer people in this area in general. My eyes fall upon the two guys that occupy the wooden table as well, and my, are they attractive.

"Guys!" Lauren chirps as we place our trays on the table opposite to them. "This is Riley! She's going to be our new friend, so please don't scare her off."

"It's going to be hard to scare someone that has already met the people in command," one says. He looks to be my age, brunette hair styled in a quiff, tan skin, and muscles that seem prevalent even with the uniform on. With a wink, he introduces himself. "I'm Derrick Williams, pleasure to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you," I say kindly with a nod.

"I'm Hagan," the blonde one introduces. He also looks the same age and has gorgeous green eyes.

"These were the guys that found you in the woods, by the way," Lauren mentions, making my eyes widen.

"Seriously?!" I choke. Derrick grins wildly, while Hagan just gives a small smile. "I-I… thank you! If you guys didn't spot me, I would've been dead."

"Oh, I'm sure someone would've seen you in the daylight," Derrick says with a chuckle, trying to divert the emotional rant I'm about to go on. "But it's no problem."

"We're just glad you're okay," Hagan says quietly. He seems to be a person that keeps to himself, which I can respect.

The meal is very bland, as if my taste buds have tried much finer cuisines in the past, but I finish it nonetheless. I want my wound to be healed as fast as possible, which surprisingly, after all the shit I've been through, it's doing pretty good. The fracture must have been very small since I can walk around just fine, minus some pain when I exert myself too much or breathe heavily. While I think about this as I sip my tea, I can't help but get the feeling that I'm being watched. I strategically turn my head slightly, the teacup still to my lips as I catch a glimpse of a table across the room.

"Shit!" I almost drop the cup as I see the harsh gaze of Levi. God, it's like his eyes could penetrate my soul. Whenever he sees my clumsy tea spill and flustered appearance, he almost smirks. Almost.

"You look like you just saw a ghost," Lauren says concerningly as she lightly touches my back. I just embarrassingly stare at the empty tray in front of me, still startled by that man's stare.

"Nah," Derrick lets out a soft chuckle as he stares directly behind me, right where I spotted Levi before. "She's being harshly scrutinized by the captain. He's probably told to keep an eye on you or something."

"Yeah, or something," Lauren giggles softly. I raise my eyebrows whenever both Derrick and Hagan groan. I'm a little scared.

"You're such a hopeless romantic, Abel," Derrick mutters, causing Lauren to hold her hands up defensively.

"I'm just saying!" She pouts. "The guy never had a girlfriend and probably gets lonely! You never know what's going through that guy's head!"

"Oh I know what's going through his head," I say with an eye roll. They all look at me questionably. "He thinks that I'm a little turd and that, I quote, I look 'disgusting.'"

"Pfft." Derrek laughs at my response, making me snort as well. "He's a jackass sometimes-"

"A lot of the time," I clarify.

"Right," he nods. "He probably thought of you like a disease with all the dirt and stuff covering your body. Which by the way- you're not disgusting."

"Gee thanks," I say sarcastically, earning another chuckle. "Is he really that obsessed with cleaning? Or is that some kind of joke with the Survey Corps."

"A little bit of both," Hagan Chimes in after his silent period. "He wouldn't be out killing titans if he weren't afraid to get his hands dirty. But he still manages to make us do a deep clean at least once a week."

"Enough about the captain's weird habits," Lauren waves off the boys, facing me again. "Captain Levi must have some romantic heart deep-"

"Deep deep deep deep deep deep-"

"Derrick shut up," she grumbles. Derrick sticks his tongue out at her, making her groan. "This is why I need girls like Riley around! I want to have guy talk without the guys."

"I can give you guy talk, but just not about Captain Levi," I tell her, earning a pout. "He's not into me, and I'm frankly not into him."

"But he's attractive, no?"

"I can't tell whenever he opens his mouth," I say indifferently. "Plus I have a lot more on my plate, more than I can chew. Apparently, I'm going to become a soldier or something? I don't know about my past life, but I have a gut feeling that I was just a normal girl in the past."

"We were all normal people in the past," Hagan tells me. Suddenly the atmosphere gets a bit darker. "I don't think anyone really wants to fight. They see potential in you, which is hard to find during a time like this."

"I'm still confused with what is going on in this world," I mumble softly. "But something tells me that no one really wants to talk about it. I don't even know what expeditions you guys go on are for…"

"We'll tell you at a better time!" Lauren says in attempts to resolving the slight tension in the room. I smile softly at her sheepish expression. What an awkward girl. "Our daily training starts soon! I'm sure you'll be able to watch."

"Watch us kick some wooden titan ass," Derrick smirks, popping his knuckles. A sound I distaste.

We all exit the mess hall around the same time, even without a command or alarm. It's as if the soldiers are so used to a routine. A routine I will eventually get to be acquainted with. I make sure to stick close to Lauren, careful not to make awkward eye contact with Levi or the others as we exit. Once again, I feel the eyes of my (hopefully) future peers glance at me from time to time, but I'm starting to get used to it.

Once outside, the glint of the morning sun hits my eyes, causing me to squint. When I adjust, I take time to actually observe my surroundings. Compared to whenever I was on the brink of death, the scenery of Headquarters is actually beautiful now. Granted, humans have touched some of the land, deducting some of the earth's natural beauty. Other than the first training area, the landscape looks peaceful. Off in the distance, I can even see the forest that once haunted me now appearing restful.

"It's beautiful, right Love?" Hanji appears next to me, as if out of thin air. I let out a gasp, nearly falling off my feet. "Sorry! I just get excited when new recruits see what the Survey Corps can do! The 104th training squad will be graduating soon. There are a lot of young pupils that have plenty of time to learn the ins and outs of this place!"

"I think I need to learn that too," I tell her once I am able to regain my composure. Hanji adjusts her glasses as she peers down at me. "What exactly are they training for right now? Expeditions?"

"Correct," she tells me. "We're in charge of the exploration and the eventual reclamation of human territory, there have been some recent changes the last couple of years. Our goal now is to lay down supplies from Trost District to Wall Maria's Shiganshina District in preparation to seal the breach caused by titans. We are tasks with reclaiming wall Maria, while in the meantime learning about them."

"Titans," I say the word once again, this time a lot more hatefully. The fact that these creatures are demoralizing everyone and causing utter heartbreak breaks my heart as well, even if I still have no idea what the hell they are. With a deep breath, I turn to Hanji and ask "I need to learn more about the Titans. Do you have any books or anything about them?"

"Eh, books?" She scratches her head. "Perhaps there are some old texts in the basement, but that place hasn't been touched in a few months or so. I'll be glad to help, but I must attend to my squad. I'm so happy you're growing an interest! Maybe you'll be as intrigued as me to learn more about them rather than just killing! Research is very-"

"Hanji." The conversation is cut dry whenever Commander Erwin walks up to us. Hanji salutes, but I don't want to embarrass myself with trying. "Hello, Riley. It's good to see that you're doing better."

"Yes, sir," I nod respectfully. If I'm going to be living here, I guess I shouldn't hold too many grudges. He hums in approval, then turns to look at all the soldiers. It looks like they're doing some hand to hand combat, which I assume is to warm up. Surely, the real enemies are the Titans, and not humans, but what do I know about this world? Maybe the people fight each other, too.

"I think it's best to attend your squad," Erwin tells Hanji.

"Yes!" she turns to me with a huge, creepy smile. "I'll be sure to have one on one time with you to discuss titans and research!"

"Er...Sounds good?" I tell her, though it comes out a little forced. Still, she grins at me before walking off. That means I'm left alone with the commander, who continues to look at his team.

"You do not want to spend 'one on one' time with Hanji when it comes to titans," he says after a few moments of awkward silence. Well- awkward for me anyway.

"Why's that?" I ask curiously. I'm actually a little shocked to see a small smile form on his lips.

"Hanji once kept me up an entire night just discussing the first ten pages of her research, which only makes up about ten percent of all the material."

"Really?!" I feel a little childish for my remark, but I can't help. I let out a laugh. "I didn't know she was that crazy!"

"You'd be surprised," he says, looking down at me. Oh shit, he's definitely well over a foot taller than me. While I'm observing the funny height difference, he continues. "She's a very dedicated member of the corps. Despite her rather, unruly, personality at times, I entrust her with the protection of the squad and the rest of humanity in the walls."

"I like her the most out of the other superiors I met," I say honestly, earning a raised eyebrow from him. Well, I guess I kind of just told him I didn't like him as much. "I mean...er, she kind of has been on my side this whole time. And I have had some… personal encounters with her as well."

"Ah," he smiles fully now. "The showers, I'm assuming. When it comes to those sorts of things, she is quite confident and doesn't really understand social cues."

"There are several people that don't really understand social cues," I mutter, looking directly at the culprits. Levi and Mike walk around the premises, watching their squads intensely. Erwin notices where my eyes trail and lets out another hum.

"I wouldn't trust putting the hands of my squad's lives into those in command if I didn't have a sound mind," he says. "Levi is harsh, straight to the point, and stubborn when it comes to important things. We share a past, and I know that he has grown. He shows compassion for his team, and we have managed to share a few smiles. Same with Mike. He's not always as harsh as when you met him. He's very loyal, which is why he attacked you when he did."

I wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but his words must hold some truth. Instead, I keep my mouth shut for once, just staring straight ahead in deep thought. Derrick and Hagan are fighting each other, while Lauren is fighting a girl that looks to be her age and height. They all have adept skills with combat, as they move around almost effortlessly. However, there are some way more distinguished with their moves, such as the people in Levi's squad. They look older, with similar glints in their eyes. They all have seen awful things, yet they continue to live on.

"Come with me," Erwin instructs after a while of watching the soldiers train. I look up him, curious as to where we are going. Still, I follow orders and walk with Erwin. About two hundred feet from the training grounds lays a location filled with stables. My eyes widen when I see beautiful, large horses roaming across a fenced field.

"W-Why are you showing me this?" I ask softly as we inch closer to the majestic creatures. "Aren't I supposed to watch how the squads train?"

"We are going to watch the squads train," Erwin tells me, invoking more curiosity and confusion. "We need to get to the forest in order to witness their use of vertical maneuvering equipment in action. I don't want you to strain yourself with walking distances, and this will save us some time. Have you ridden before?"

"I don't remember," I reply plainly as I reach up to pet one of the horses. Its face is soft, and even though there are several flies around it, the animal still looks adorable, yet strong. Its eyes are big and brown, kind of like mine.

"You'll ride with me then," he says, walking over to an already saddled horse. "This one here is mine. His name is Maximus."

"A strong horse for a strong man," I say softly as I approach the giant, white steed. The moment the words tumble out of my mouth, I immediately blush and interject myself. "I mean! Not like that… You're strong but-"

"Thank you," Erwin lets out a small chuckle, only making my cheeks flush a deeper crimson. I am so bad when it comes to talking to men. "I have had Maximus for many years, and he hasn't let me down yet."

"He's massive," I breathe softly. Hell, I don't even know how Erwin manages to climb up on this thing.

"They have been specially bred to allow us to outrun Titans while outside the Walls," he explains, rubbing Maximus' neck. "They're strong fighters, like us."

"So…" I look into the horse's coal colored eyes. "How am I supposed to get on this thing without refracturing my ribs?"

"Do you trust me?" He asks, staring straight into my eyes. His are an icy blue, and I'm jealous.

"Do you trust me?" I fire back, earning an eyebrow lift from him. Oh my God, his eyebrows are huge.

He doesn't answer me with words. Instead, a small shriek slips from my lips as the commander grabs me by the waist, lifting me delicately, with ease, onto Maximus. His hands are huge compared to my small body. Whenever I'm safely on top of the horse, nervous as hell, he puts one foot on the stirrup and kicks his other leg across the opposite side of the horse. Once behind me, Erwin places his arm on either side of me, making my cheeks turn as scarlet as ever. I don't even see him in that kind of way, but the fact that a strong, handsome man puts his arms around me to reach for the reins make me feel some type of flustered way. With one motion of the reins, the horse whinnies and takes off towards the forest.

We ride at a steady pace towards the squad. The day is hot, but the delicate trotting of the horse as we ride against the wind provided a nice breeze. Although I feel refreshed, the heat from my cheeks doesn't disappear. I must be some virgin or something because any contact with men so far has been very awkward. Still, I shake the thought away considering Erwin is literally right behind me.

When we reach the forest, I see many of the soldiers with some sort of metal device on their waists. There looks to be a location for blades to be stored as well, making the equipment look intimidating. Several members of the squad look over at Erwin and me as we ride past them. Lauren is one of them, and when she notices the two of us, she presses her hands against her cheek, and I swear I can see the hearts in her eyes. Meanwhile, Derrick notices this and flicks her forehead, causing her to pout and me to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Erwin asks from behind, making me jump a little bit. He's too damn close.

"Er, nothing, sir," I mumble, hiding my face from him.

My eyes scan the crowd until they fall upon a certain short and crude soldier. Levi leads the group, also on horseback, to the location where they would be training. He must've felt my eyes burning through the back of his head because he turns around, quickly meeting my gaze. His eyes venture from me to the commander, eyes trailing to the arms around me all the way to my blushing cheeks. He simply rolls his eyes, muttering something from under his breath. I assume it's something along the lines of 'idiot' or 'little school girl'. Still, I wonder if it's my imagination that saw something twinkle in his bluish grey eyes.

Erwin ends up halting us whenever we reach the destination. To my relief, he unmounts Maximus, holding on to his frontal reins as he slowly leads me to an area where I can get a good eye of the training. Being at this height gives me an advantage as well, since I'm a pipsqueak.

It only takes a few moments for the squad to start the show, and whenever the training begins, I'm astounded by the sight in front of me. I watch as they soar through the sky, aiming and firing the grapple hooks on their gear at the trees. They all seem to activate some sort of gas mechanism to reel towards where the hooks land, but I hardly pay attention to the mechanics as I watch all of their flawless movements. Sure, some of them seem to be a little unblemished compared to others, but their actions are far cleaner than I would imagine myself doing.

"It's like they're all flying," I whisper to no one in particular, watching the scenes unfold in front of me.

"Our symbol is called the Wings of Freedom for a reason," Erwin says proudly. All I can do is nod in agreement at his words, watching intently as soldiers begin hitting their targets.

_The Wings of Freedom… I'll be a part of this fight for freedom, too._


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize in advance for the slight level of cringe in this chapter xD. I wrote this months ago when my obsession with AoT and Levi was starting to flourish and turn me into a pre-teen girl again. I'm not changing it, though, because a scene from this chapter is referenced several times later on so...we'll deal with it together?**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

A week has passed since I have lived here at the Survey Corps Headquarters. To be honest, not a lot of changes have occurred. My wound is almost completely healed, much to the dismay of the doctor. I have yet to start training, but I think that within the next couple of days, I will be able to join the others. During the wait, I've gotten to know Lauren, Derrick, and Hagan a bit better between meals and staying up late chatting with my roommate. I have a feeling that we may be getting into some antics, should our friendship keep progressing the way it is…

"You've been staring at your reflection for the past ten minutes," Lauren walks up from behind. I catch her amused expression through the mirror of our vanity table. "Who are you trying to impress today? Captain Levi or Commander Erwin?"

"Neither," I say with a flustered look. She only laughs harder, making me glare. "I told you a hundred times that I don't like them! Aren't they both like ten years older than me or something?"

"Ah, that doesn't matter," she waves her hand in the air dismissively. "They look a lot younger than they are, and they're both sexy men. Imagine what their strong arms-"

"I'm not listening!" I mockingly cover my ears and stick my tongue out at her. She rolls her eyes at me.

"And you say I'm immature," she mutters. Eh, she's just disappointed that I'm not fulfilling her perverted fantasies. "Anyways, we better get to breakfast soon before it's time for our weekly chores assignment."

"Don't remind me," I say with a whine. The longer I stay here, the longer I hear the voices of my soon to be squadmates. Apparently, everyone dreads the day Levi assigns chores to everyone. Levi even cancels morning training just so the building is spotless.

I end up tying my hair into a messy bun atop of my head, too lazy to try and brush out the tangly waves. Some stray wisps of my hair caress the sides of my cheeks, and I actually feel cute for once. I wear my white button-down shirt and dark pants, still not allowed to don the uniform until I begin my training. Evidently, I'll get paid a small salary once I join the Survey Corps, but it will be a while before I get the stipend.

Commander Erwin will be creating an alias for me, forging false documents so I will be able to be considered a citizen. It sounds complicated and extremely illegal, but he assures that it'll be taken care of. He and the others seem very adamant about exploring the unexplainable strength that I supposedly hold.

Lauren and I walk together to the mess hall as we have the past week. I grab my signature bowl of oatmeal, bread, and tea as we head over to our table. Derrick waves us over as if we would miss the sight of his big head. I internally chuckle at my insult before placing my tray down on the table.

"Good morning, Hagan," I say with a grin. Hagan smiles softly himself, nodding his head at me.

"You have yet to tell me good morning first, Lovely," Derrick whines at me as I stuff my face. He has started to call me Lovely, a small alteration to my last name. "What does he have that I don't?"

"A brain," Lauren answers for me, and I snort at her words. Derrick rolls his eyes while Hagan just smirks.

"I bet I could beat you with who will be the first to be dismissed by Captain Levi today," Derrick challenges out of spite, making Lauren smirk.

"You, Hagan, and the rest of your bunkmates are always the last ones to get dismissed," Lauren fires back.

"I just don't see the point in cleaning whenever there are bigger problems in the world," Hagan chimes in, shrugging at Lauren's comment.

"We can't let our lives get consumed by what's outside of the walls," Lauren argues. "If we did that, we might as well be titan fodder. We fight to keep protecting our humanity."

"You're just saying that because you're going to lose," Derrick says conceitedly. Hagan and I watch in amusement as he leans forward, holding his hand out towards Lauren. Living up to her hard-headed nature, Lauren firmly shakes his much larger hand. Before she could pull away, however, Derrick leans in and kisses her hand, making her shriek in disgust.

"You're so gross!" She whines, yanking away. All of us (minus Lauren) share a laugh. Who would think that this would be the last laugh of the morning before the torturous cleaning begins.

* * *

"Oi, you're not scrubbing hard enough."

I can hear Levi's voice all the way down the hall, which annoys the shit out of me. The cleaning process hasn't even lasted five minutes, and he's already scolding everyone for improper cleaning. Thank God our room is one of the last ones in the hall, otherwise I would have to strongly resist the urge to punch that man's sharp jawline.

Our first task of the morning is to start with our sleeping quarters. Tasks involve washing the sheets, dusting, and scrubbing the floors and baseboards. Lauren had already hand washed the sheets, and they are currently hanging by clothespins outside to dry. Meanwhile, I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor. For some reason, all of this cleaning comes to me like second nature. It feels like, no matter how hard I scrub, it just doesn't feel clean enough. It's as if these supplies are less potent from ones I have used before, but I can't remember.

"What the hell," Lauren looks at me in shock as I finish scrubbing out a stain that has been getting on my nerves since I moved into the room. I raise my eyebrow at her outburst. "That stain has been there since I've joined this regime. No one could get that out."

"Well, they must have not used enough elbow grease," I grunted, scooting forward to another spot on the floor. I feel the wood scrape against my knees, but I embrace the pain rather than fight it. Apparently, I'm good at cleaning, so I'm going to use that ability to help Lauren with her little competition against Derrick.

About twenty minutes have passed, and I am just about done with scrubbing most of the floor. For some reason, the small stains from within the cracks of the floorboards were not coming up, so I decide to ask Lauren if she has an extra toothbrush. She gives me a bewildered look before going over to her dresser, pulling out what I need. With a set glint in my eyes, I get to work, dipping the toothbrush into the soapy bucket, then getting to scrubbing. Lauren jokingly cheers me on, watching in awe as I get almost every stain out of the crevices. We cause enough commotion for Levi to walk towards the entrance of our door, but I don't even realize, too concentrated on my cleaning.

"There's no time to be messing around-" Levi starts his sentence that barely makes it to my ears, but he cuts himself off when looking at me. Lauren is dead silent, watching as Levi's eyes widen just the slightest bit out of shock.

I finally look up, but don't stop the back and forth motions of the toothbrush as I make eye contact with him, sweat dripping from my forehead. I almost blush at the expression he's giving me, as if he hasn't seen a person put this much detailed effort into cleaning.

"We're not messing around, Captain," Lauren says with a controlled, projected voice. "Riley even got that pesky stain out that we've been trying to get for months!"

"Right…" Levi gives me one last glance, his composure back to his original self. "Keep this up, Love. You're already on thin ice as is."

"Not as icy as your eyes," I mutter under my breath, and I'm almost positive that he hears me.

"Tch." He wanders off to another room, not saying another word.

"Oh. My. God." Lauren's eyes are almost as wide as her head, and I mentally prepare myself for the long spiel I'm about to recieve. "That was the closest thing to a compliment I think Captain has ever said to anyone about their cleaning. And he called you Love!"

"That's my last name, genius," I say to her before standing up. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead, thankful that I'm done cleaning the stupid floor. "I'm telling you, he hates me."

"He didn't punish you for that remark you made about him," she argues, pointing a finger into my chest. I roll my eyes and make my way to the feather dusters resting on the dresser, throwing one her way. She catches it, a little surprised.

"Don't you want to beat Derrick?" I ask her, knowing very well the answer. She pouts a bit for me deflecting the conversation but agrees that we have an important mission to complete.

Half an hour later, the two of us are making out way to Levi's office. Lauren seems to be shaking in her boots, but I honestly don't care. He watched me get slammed against a wall, and I doubt he'd be allowed to do the same now. The moment we turn the corner towards his quarters, both of us stop in our tracks whenever we see Derrick, Hagan, and two other guys coming from the men's corridor of the sleeping quarters. It's as if everything is in slow motion as we all stare at each other. Then, I turn to Lauren, whispering into her ear-

"Run."

It's as if a bullet shot off into the room, and everyone in the hall sprints towards Levi's office. Adrenaline sets in for this foolish situation, but nonetheless, something fires within my brain, and I run at a speed faster than anyone I have seen. The others actually stop halfway through running, their mouths parted in shock with how quickly I make it to the door. I don't blame them- it seems almost unnatural.

"Oi, Levi!" I knock on the door a few times and wait for an answer. It's silent for a moment, and the others have finally caught up to me, looking at me like I'm some kind of science experiment. However, I don't have time to question anything as the door swings open, and I'm greeted with a fist gripping my shirt.

The next thing I know, I'm being pressed up against the door, although not as rough as I had imagined. My cheeks begin to change color as Levi's face rests no longer than a few centimeters away from mine. If I were to lean forward anymore, our lips would likely be touching, and that thought alone made my mind go berserk. My eyes meet his malicious ones, and I almost fear for my life. His breath smells slightly of tea and mint as he parts his lips, uttering to my face-

"You're supposed to refer to me as Captain, you idiot."

Without a second thought, he lets go of my shirt and takes a few steps back. Lauren looks fearful yet extremely excited at the situation unfolding between her and the rest of the audience. Once I'm no longer completely consumed with the scent and presence of Levi, I compose myself, standing up straighter.

"Well, _Captain_," I drench the word with as much sarcasm as I can muster, and I am awarded a scowl. "Our room is clean, and we're ready for inspection."

"If I find one piece of dirt anywhere near the premise of your sleeping quarters," he begins, rubbing his hands against his shirt, as if wiping away my touch. "You'll have to start over and clean the entirety of the kitchen without the help of others."

"Of course, sir," I respond with a small smirk. For some reason, it's funny when he gets angry about something as small as me not calling him Captain. Without another second passed, he leads the way to our room, and surprisingly, everyone follows.

"I cannot believe you did that," Derrick muttered to me, though I'm sure Levi can hear us. "I can't wait to see you guys get stuck with kitchen duty."

"Don't be so sure," I retort, folding my arms. "Lauren and I are confident in our work. Right-"

We all look over at Lauren, who is absolutely pale as a ghost, biting her nails in anticipation as we inch closer to the room. I roll my eyes. _Great. Way to make us look like idiots._

* * *

Levi enters the room, his eyes roaming around every aspect of the room. I can practically hear Lauren's heartbeat with every step he takes, but I truly am confident with the amount of effort put into making this place sterile. And it shows. Levi even put his hand in the crevices of our bunk bed, just like I intended him to do, and there is no trace of dust on his fingerprints as he rubs his fingers together. He checks the window, baseboards, walls, ceiling, floorboard, vanity, in the drawers, the closet, and even behind the dresser. I try not to give a smug smile whenever Levi turns around, nodding in approval.

"You passed."

"WHAAAAAAA"

Everyone yells in shock, even Lauren. With a huge grin, I turn to her, and we share a high five. I watch as she sticks her tongue out at Derrick, whose mouth is wide open and appears like he's practically convulsing.

"No one has ever passed on the first try!" One of Hagan and Derrick's roommates utter, clenching their fist. "Are you a goddess?!"

"Don't you idiots have cleaning to complete?" Levi hisses at the guys. They all look at him with fearful eyes and immediately dash back to their rooms. What a bunch of wusses. Once it's just Lauren and me, Levi says, "I was going to assign you with dish duty, but seeing as those brats annoyed me, I'm going to give it to them instead. You have the morning off, but don't do anything stupid."

"Yes, sir!" Lauren and I both do the salute, placing our right hands to our chests (though I silently pray that I'm not messing it up). Levi just rolls his eyes before exiting the room. As soon as he leaves, the two of us look at each other before bursting with laughter.

"Did you see the look on their faces?!" she snorts, clenching her stomach. "Oh my God, that was perfect! I can't wait to rub it in their faces later!"

"I'm just glad that we were the first ones done," I admit with a grin. Her eyes follow me as I walk over to the bed, sitting on the coverless mattress. "Oi, when are those blankets going to be dry?"

"Probably a few more hours," she shrugs, walking over to sit with me. I catch that glint in her eye, the one where she's about to rant. "I genuinely feared for your life earlier, but… DID YOU SEE THE WAY CAPTAIN LEVI WAS LOOKING AT YOU WHEN YOU WERE PINNED AGAINST THE WALL?!"

"No!" I whine. "Don't start this! He wanted to kill me!"

"He didn't have to get that close to kill you!" She points at me, her eyes burning with hope and desire. "He looked like he wanted to kiss you!"

"He hates me!"

"What did he smell like?!"

"Tea, mint, and laundry detergent!" I groan, gripping my hair. Fine, I'll admit it. "He smells really good! His eyes are actually really pretty up close!"

"I KNEW IT!"

"Can you _brats_ keep it down?" We both turn our attention to the door frame, but instead of Levi standing in all of his short glory, it's another girl, one that I have seen around but never met. Her dark, curly hair cascades a bit past her shoulders, comparing to her dark brown eyes. If looks could kill, we'd be dead.

"Can you go clean somewhere else?" Lauren fired back, earning a glare.

"Whatever," she finally agrees, but not before giving both of us another hard look. The moment she saunters away, I immediately look to Lauren for answers. By the looks of it, she doesn't like the girl any more than she likes us.

"Her name is Rachel Mane. She's a bitch, but she's good at what she does."

"Being a bitch?" I joke, making her snort.

Funny, I never noticed this Rachel chick before. She never stood out of the crowd, but she's actually beautiful. Her personality makes that near impossible to see, however.

"C'mon," Lauren stands up with a smile. I raise my eyebrows questionably. "Didn't you say you wanted to go to the basement to find books on titans or whatever? Now's our only change with this free time!"

"You're right," I say, excitement forming in my stomach. I love exploring. "Let's go before Levi comes back and finds remnants of that Rachel chick and makes us clean again."

We both share humored looks before rushing out of our room. I follow Lauren, as I'm used to her leading me around the vicinity. Even though I'm getting the ropes of this place, it all still feels like unknown territory. She leads me down several corridors for what feels like hours, but when we reach two antiquated doors, it all seems worth it. I guess I'm a nerd when it comes to history and books, so when Lauren manages to move the decrepit hinges, I immediately rush towards the stairs.

"It's pitch black down here," she mutters as we descend the stone staircase. I can feel her visibly shudder. "It's creepy. I feel like we're being watched."

"Here," I say, feeling around for a lantern. Thankfully, there is one that I can light, and when I do so, a path of similar lights can be seen down our route. The two of us descend down the eerie hall, lighting lanterns as until we reach the bottom of the stairs. The air is suffocating, but when we manage to brighten the small room we're in, both of our eyes widen in shock.

"W-What is this thing?" Lauren is the first to speak as we approach the large object covered by a ragged cloth. Sure, there are books littering the place, sheathing multiple shelves, but the shape of this object looks so familiar that I have to pull the cloth away, making Lauren gasp. "What are you doing?!"

"Relax!" I tell her with a huge grin, recognition residing in my mind. She furrows her eyebrows, still seeming confused. "It's a piano! You haven't seen one of these things before?"

"I-I've read about them," she mutters, reaching out to touch one of the ivory keys. "I'm from Wall Maria, from a small village. Only merchants, lords, and kings usually have pianos."

"Then you must not know how to play," I say softly, inching my way towards the bench resting in front of the piano. Her eyes watch my every movement as if this thing is off limits.

"Do you?!" She seems shocked, and I can't help but giggle softly.

"I-I believe so," I whisper, placing my fingers onto the keys. Before I have any time to fiddle around, my eyes seem to widden, my mouth parting softly. It's as if I'm being punched with thousands of memories, yet they're all clouded and unrecognizable. My hands possess a mind of their own, and they immediately start to play the opening chord to a song…

**Levi's Pov**

I sip my tea quietly at my desk, reading over the "official" documents of Riley Love. I suppose growing up a thug is associated with being able to check if a forged paper will pass inspection, at least according to Erwin's mind. It all seems pretty believable, but before I can re-read through the description of the strange woman, my ears pick up a unique, yet familiar, sound. Yes. Throughout all the shouts and complaints from some of the soldier about my 'torturous' cleaning assignments, I can pick up the sounds of a faint melody, which from the proximity and general direction, can only come from the basement.

My chair scrapes against the wooden floor as I go to stand up. Placing my tea down, I move towards the exit, mind curious as to who would be below the floors. Quickly, I come to only one conclusion. With everyone else constantly failing my inspection, the only ones allowed to freely roam are Love and Abel. But why the hell are they in the basement?

The sounds of an instrument become more apparent as I make my way down the corridor. I've never actually been down to this part of the basement, as it's more of a storage closet than anything. Hanji told me that there were random objects left behind from previous owners of this run-down castle. Who would've thought there was a piano?

I scowl whenever there's nothing but dust and cobwebs ravishing the crevices of this place, and I make a note for someone to clean this as a punishment in the future. But before I can even contemplate the idea, I halt in my tracks. My eyebrows raise slightly when I hear a voice begin to sing, but only out of shock from how well trained they sound.

"_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light…_" The voice sings somewhere between the soprano and alto range, playing chords on the piano as if they were paid by the king himself. "_I remember you said don't leave me here alone, but all that's dead and gone and passed tonight…"_

I already recognize the voice of Riley's before rounding the corner. The sight in front of me unfolds, revealing the small woman sitting in front of the offensively dusty piano. Lauren Abel stands to the side, resting her arm on the large melodic instrument, staring at Love in shock and admiration. When I'm about to order them to quit fooling around, the next words to fall out of Love's mouth is enough to make me pause once more.

_"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now...Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."_

My mind ventures to the depths of my repressed memories, pulling up unwarranted images of the past that make me quiver in anger.

Furlan and Isabel…

_"Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire. The war outside our door keeps raging on."_ Their eyes, full of so many emotions, the memories of their happiness more painful than a thousand knives. _"Hold onto this lullaby... even when the music's gone, gone…"_

I grit my teeth at Riley's God awful pause at the word 'gone.' Images of their lifeless expressions, the sounds of the titans destroying the remnants of what was my only real family, obliterating them to nothing. It takes all I have in me not to go into an unfiltered range, but I manage to compose myself, hiding my emotions as I take louder steps to the two women.

"What the hell do you think you're doi-"

My words are cut off by the expression of Riley as she turns around. Abel looks frightened, as if being caught doing something illegal, but Riley... Tears that fill her large, doe-like eyes cascade down her cheeks. She tries to look as if nothing has happened, wiping away at her face, but I could see the emotion. It's as if she remembers the feelings of a situation, but can't remember the vision and people involved. I read her as confused, scared, alone, and angry. However, I don't question her on it, as that's the last thing I need to deal with.

"S-Sorry sir!" Abel speaks for the two of them, saluting. "We were just looking for books and stumbled across this piano. Riley is very talented…"

"Be that as it may," I say, the compliment slipping out before I can hold it back. "When I said you had free time, I didn't mean to snoop around in places where your noses shouldn't be. Training starts in about an hour, so I suspect you two get back upstairs. Now."

"Yes, sir!" Abel turns her attention to Riley, who now stands up. With rushed movements, the girl walks over to the bookshelf, picking up the first few that she can manage to reach before leaving with Abel, passing me in the process. She averts eye contact, as I suspected she would. The moment that they're away from this room, I let out a small sigh. Staring at the piano, the memories tied with that woman's song float around it as well. With the shake of my head, I turn around and ascend the staircase.

_Damn you for reminding me of some of the deepest parts of my internal hell._

* * *

**If you didn't know, the song was Taylor Swifts song, Safe and Sound (which I for sure don't own). The song was written for the Hunger Games, and it reminded me of the show, so I included it. Cliche, yes, but this was technically my first fic so I can't be too upset with myself.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"It's time to remove these bastardly things once and for all."

I mumble to myself as I stand in front of the vanity mirror, topless. I'm concealed with the bandages, but I still make sure that the door is closed, with only Lauren in the room with me. She herself is getting dressed, unbothered by the idea that someone can see her body. She can be quiet at times, yet so confident with her self-image. I admire that about her.

"Do you need any help?" she asks me concerningly. I wave her off, however, seeing as I am completely healed now.

"If I can't take off bandages on my own," I say to her with a small smirk. "Then I have no mind training today with the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment."

"You have no mind anyway," she teases. I'm used to her teasing, so I simply ignore the comments at this point.

It takes a moment to reach the clasp that pins my bandages to my chest, but I quickly manage and start unraveling. Facing away from Lauren, I unwind the bandage until I'm completely exposed. For the first time in a few days, I can breathe properly again with the lack of compression on my chest. Once I'm completely undone, I rush over to the dresser and grab my bra, slipping it on. It's been a while since I had to wear one of these, but it feels significantly better than the hellish wrapping. With a small grin, I reach for my shirt, thankful that I can finally put one horrific thing behind me. But, contrary to my beliefs, a new horrific event constructs before my very eyes.

"Oh no…" I mumble in utter dread. "Oh no no no…"

"What's wrong?" Lauren hops down from her bunk, rushing over to me. The worry in her eyes quickly dissipates to humor whenever she sees my dilemma. She puffs her cheeks out, tears welling in her eyes as she tries not to laugh. "Oh, honey…"

My feeble attempts to button my shirt all end in utter failure. Now that the bandages are removed, the shirt that I usually throw on with ease no longer fits due to my damn breasts. I know that I have pretty good boobs for my size, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Lauren just watches me as I try time and time again to get the last two buttons of my shirt, so I give her a pleading look.

"Don't just stand there! Help me!" I whine. "We have to be downstairs in less than ten minutes!"

"Okay okay!" She chuckles softly before rushing to my aid. With her fingers, she flimsily tries to button over my breast, but she struggles as much as me. After about five minutes, we manage to cover most of my chest, but I have to literally clench the shirt closed with my hands.

"This isn't going to work…" I cry out. "Please tell me you have a shirt that I can wear?!"

"I'm sorry, but I wear that same size! My boobs are tiny, so I don't have that problem."

"Eh?! Shut up!" I whine, shaking my head. "What are we going to do?"

"I would suggest putting the binding back on, but you shouldn't keep your chest compressed for so long. Let's go find Hanji. She's the one that provided your uniform, so surely she can a shirt for you to wear."

"Great," I mumble sarcastically, yet I still agree. I reach for my new uniform jacket on my bed, slipping it on in hopes of it covering my chest, but it doesn't do much. Lauren just watches me hopelessly.

The two of us creep out of my room, with her skillfully in front to hide my body. Lauren suspects that all of the officers and squad leaders are in Commander Erwin's office discussing daily duties, so we head towards that direction. Though it may not seem like an emergency to some, I couldn't function throughout the day with my cleavage hanging out. So when Lauren nervously knocks on the door, I don't feel bad. In fact, I feel impatient that no one answers right away.

"You can come in," the Commander's voice filters through the oak door with an authoritative tone. I give Lauren a wide-eyed look, not wanting to see the fucking commander with my boobs about to pop out.

"Er," Lauren pauses before cracking the door, popping her head in. "We're just looking for Hanji… it's Lauren Abel and Riley Love."

"I'm in here!" Hanji calls out, making me roll my eyes.

"I can't come in!" I holler through the door, my cheeks tinting an embarrassing red. "I need a shirt because mine doesn't fit anymore…"

I hear the shuffling of feet and whispers in the room, and within a few moments, Hanji opens the door, a little too wide, to reveal that it's just Levi, Mike, and her with the commander in his office. Letting out a yelp, I quickly hide my chest, seeing as a bunch of men now have their attention on me. Thankfully, they don't see the problem with Hanji blocking most of the doorway.

"What is it that you…oh." Hanji looks down at my chest, her cheeks turning a pale pink. Trying her best to hold back an embarrassed laugh, she says, "I see."

"Do you have any extra shirts?" Lauren asks for me, seeing as I'm as pale as a ghost. "The bandages...kinda…yeah."

"Unfortunately, the only sizes we have left are the smalls. We'll have to order more, but for now...let's see. Who would be your size that I know would have plenty of clean shirts to spare…"

_Oh God, please no._

"Levi!" Hanji turns around, facing the man that seems to be the closest to my size, even though he's more muscular and a few inches taller. Levi, who is sitting lazily in a chair next to the commander, raises his eyebrow curiously. "Riley is in desperate need for an emergency shirt...er, you have a bunch of clean ones, right?"

"You're kidding me, aren't you?" his expression remains unchanged, diverting his eyes to meet mine. Hanji folds her arms and takes a step back to scold him, but that only reveals more of my body.

Then, everything happens in slow motion.

Everyone's eyes follow the button that pops off of my shirt, watching as the damned thing falls onto the rug, spinning around a few times for dramatic effect before landing in a still, flat motion. All I can do is stand, motionlessly, my petrified face no longer red, but rather a pallid, distressed expression that has resulted from the uttermost embarrassing moment of my entire existence. Everyone, and I mean everyone, follows the trail of the button, all the way up to my chest, where my cleavage is exposed at an obscene level. Commander Erwin blushes, Hanji and Lauren look like they can't breathe, Levi just stares, and Mike...Mike just sniffs the air.

"I'm… going to rid myself of existence now…" I breathe sheepishly, still not moving from my spot.

"I have a shirt you can have," Levi says, after moments of extremely awkward silence. I remain unmoved as he stands up, leaving behind the shocked men. When he walks past me, I get the scent of tea and mint again, but I have no time to relish in the calming smell. No, nothing will be able to replace this abominable punch at my dignity. Seeing as I haven't moved, he calls behind. "Oi. Are you coming?"

"Ah...Yeah. I-I'm coming," is all I manage to spew out before beelining out the door, not even bothering to salute Erwin. Besides, he still seems in shock from seeing a new, fellow soldier near exposed.

Hanji, Lauren, and I follow Levi down the corridor towards his room. The awkward tension in the air is almost visible, none of us speaking a word as we follow the man. My prayers are almost answered as we nearly get to Levi's room without passing a single soul, but one big-headed idiot decides to throw my one wish out the window. Derrick rounds the corner, walking past everyone with a nod of his head. He passes us for a moment, but I can hear him stop dead in his tracks. I didn't have to turn around to know that he did a double take at the sight of me.

"Nice."

Before anyone could react, I rotate to face the bastard, taking two large steps towards him. He notices my presence from behind but has no time to react as I grab him by his collar, slamming him against the wall. By now, the group gasps (or stares, in Levi's case) as I nearly pick him right off the ground. Though he's a foot taller than me, I manage to stare him right in his shaky eyes, my free hand in the shape of a fist.

"L-Lovely! It's me! Your best bud!" Derrick tries to stammer, but I glower at him, ceasing his words.

"Listen here, _Williams_," I spew in his face, clenching his shirt tighter. The poor man shivers, holding his arms up in defense. "If I ever hear you mention my fucking boobs to absolutely anyone, I will personally castrate you, feeding your sad excuse of manhood to the horses. Do I make myself clear?!"

"Riley!" Hanji tries to interfere, reaching for my arm.

"Do you understand?!" I repeat louder, my words dripping in venom.

"Yes! I promise!" Derrick whines, shaking his head back and forth. "I'm sorry! I won't ever comment on your breasts ever again! Unless you consent…"

I let go of his shirt, allowing him to fall back against the wall, panting. He knows that I wouldn't actually hurt him, but I'm at my breaking point today, and it's not even 6:30. So, with one last deep breath, I fall back in line with the others, noting their expressions. Approval dances around Levi's irises, making me feel better about the fact that I just threatened a fellow squad member. If Levi thinks it's humorous, then there can't be any harm in it… Unless we're both sadistic.

"Okayyy…" Lauren finally breaks the silence, clapping her hands together. We all look at her, including Derrick, who is now on the floor a couple of meters behind. "Let's get this shirt and get Riley out there to release some...pent up aggression, shall we?"

"Perhaps if we pair Love with Williams, we'll be able to see more of her full potential," Levi comments as we begin walking. Hanji squeals at this, holding her fists in the air.

"Your sarcastic comment might actually be a good idea!" She chirps, eyes burning with madness. "That sounds like fun!"

_Fun indeed…_

* * *

Levi's shirt smells like tea and laundry detergent. How much tea does this damn man drink? Hell, all of that caffeine is probably what stunted his growth. But I'm thankful due to the fact that his shirt fits nicer than what I have previously imagined. It's a bit long, a little loose, but it covers up all the essentials, which is all I need. Besides, you can't even notice that it's a man's shirt once it's tucked in. Still, the thought that this is Levi's shirt makes me blush. I wonder if he ever gave a woman his clothes before...or has he ever been with a woman?!

My perverted thoughts are disrupted whenever hand-to-hand combat training starts to commence. Despite learning about techniques for a week with Lauren, Derrick, and Hagan, I'm still nervous to fight people that have had three years of military training, not counting however many years they have managed to survive expeditions to continue their training.

I haven't been able to physically train with my body, and honestly, I fear that the higher ranks refused to train me because of the ideology that I'm kept around here for being a weird superhuman. Yes, I've had moments of abnormal strength, speed, and recovery, but they were beyond my control. Will I be able to summon those skills now?

Erwin commands us to find a partner at random, seeing as no one fighting technique is the same, so we should switch it up. My eyes dart around in hopes of finding one of my comrades to take on, but Derrick is already with Hagan, and Lauren gets paired up with that Rachel chick. As the minutes tick by, squad members become more inaccessible, leaving me to stand out like the weakling that is always last to get picked in gym class.

"Still have no partner, I see?" My shoulders tense when I hear a familiar voice pierce my ears. With no hesitation, I turn swiftly on the balls of my feet to meet my one and only foe, Mike. He stands confidently, with his posture much taller and cleaner than mine.

"Er, are you suggesting that we fight each other?" I question him with a daunting level of concern, making him smirk. "Aren't you like, a squad leader or something like that? Shouldn't you be watching your...squad?"

"Those with leadership positions have to practice too," he replies with a shrug. "Besides. I want to consider this as a rematch, for what you managed to do to me. My shoulder was dislocated, you know."

"I really didn't mean to," I reply sheepishly, my cheeks tinging. "It's just that there was a lot of tension, and I-"

"I'm not holding a grudge over that," Mike says seriously, halting my words. His eyes hold some weight as he continues. "You did what you had to do, and I had to do the same. I was simply protecting my comrades, and you were trying to protect yourself. We both did some damage, but not we're in the same place, working as a team now."

"That's true…" I mumble softly, not sure what to say.

"Besides," he smirks, taking a step back in a defensive pose. "We can let out any leftover aggressions right now. No hard feelings."

"Alright," I say. Though I'm nervous, I try to pull off the stance that my friends taught me as if I'm completely confident. Mike raises an eyebrow at me.

"I'm surprised you know some of the basic stances taught to the trainees at the corps," he says.

"I had to find my own means of training," I explain. "Not like you guys bothered training me, anyway. You all want me to make a fool out of myself."

"Tch, maybe so!" Before I could react, Mike throws his fist directly into my chest, catching me completely off guard. For a brief second, I clench my eyes shut expecting pain to erupt from my ribs, but only the sharp impact of his punch against my breast is felt, and shit, did it hurt.

A feeling erupts in the pit of my stomach that's far beyond my control. My breath hitches whenever my hands start to take over, my mind not even thinking. Something flashes in my eyes, and that's when my body goes into full attack mode.

I stand upright with my guard high and arms extended, keeping my weight on the back leg with the front leg light. Mike looks surprised at this, but takes no time to try and attack again. My pose makes it easy to block his punch, so I take the opportunity to kick my leg, taking out his ankles. What seems like an obvious move takes him by surprise, seeing as how moments ago I looked like a lost puppy. He falls down onto the ground, causing some heads to turn.

I go back into my defensive pose, arms covering my face as Mike sit up, spitting a blade of grass that entered his mouth. He's not one to be underestimated, though. And that proves as he jumps up, throwing his fist towards my face. I throw my fist towards his face as well, hoping to get a punch in before he hits me. To my surprise, he pulls away last second, ducking from my punch and throwing his arms around me. With a grunt, I fall to the ground, my back slamming against the dry earth.

As he straddles me, I thrash about whilst trying to find a way to escape. My immediate thought is to knee him in the crotch, but that would be a low blow during training. So instead, I thrust my hips up against his legs that straddle them, causing him to lift up just enough for me to pull my legs back. He lets out a grunt as I throw my legs around his face, pushing up with my hands so that I can throw myself up. The situation flips as my momentum pushes his head back to the ground, my feet now on either side of him as I stand. I take the opportunity to jump away, spinning around to face him once more.

The fight goes on for a while, and the two of us lose track of time as we switch back and forth from offense to defense. The two of us seem to be around the same level when it comes to our combat skills. Though we're both out of breath, we continue fighting, neither of us backing down. It isn't until I hear Levi's voice that my movements halt.

"You two need to stop before you end up actually injuring one another," he says, making the two of us turn our heads. My breaths become more shallow as my body starts to relax (at least the best it could with Mike on top of me). My eyes scan the situation, surprised to see that the majority of the soldiers have halted their own training to watch the two of us in awe. Levi doesn't seem to care, however, seeing as his eyes are trained directly at me. "You. Where did you learn to fight like that? You're no ordinary civilian."

"I...I…" My mind goes blank, not sure of what to say. "I don't have an answer."

"I do." Mike says from on top of me. Levi and I give him a confused look as he stands up, offering his hand to me. Without hesitation, I take it. Once I'm up, my legs feel sore, but I have no time to think about the pain as he speaks. "I believe you when you say you have no memory of your past. But I have a feeling that it's not normal."

"What do you mean?" I ask. My heart starts to accelerate, and not from the training. Mike goes to speak up, but Levi cuts him off.

"Oi, get back to work!" He commands the other soldiers, seeing as a lot of them are still listening in on the conversation. Seeing as Levi is the one who commanded, they immediately obey, like his words have some sort of power over their minds. Once they all go back to their training, Mike continues.

"You're eyes flashed whenever I punched you," He states simply. I furrow my brows.

"Flashed?" Levi questions, unfolding his arms.

"Yes," Mike nods. "I've noticed it before, the first time she was threatened by me. I was thinking my eyes were just deceiving me, but I saw it once again today. Every time she feels threatened, her eyes flash with this weird glint."

"What are you trying to get at?" Levi pushes. Meanwhile, I just remain speechless, trying to make sense of his words.

"She changes after the flash," Mike explains, looking into my eyes. "Her weak posture becomes strong, her stance becomes professional. Her eyes are filled with rage. Tell me, Riley. Did you feel like you had control over the situation after I punched you?"

"N-no," I mutter, my breath shaky. I stare at the ground with wide eyes, almost trembling. "It was as if my body had a mind of its own…"

"Right. I have no idea what this means, but there is something beyond us that is transpiring."

"Tch." Levi lets out an annoyed sigh. "Whatever the hell it is, we have no knowledge about it. But as of right now, we can use it to our advantage."

"What's going to happen to me?" I ask, voice still shaky. The thought of being isolated again genuinely scares me.

"Nothing." Levi states. My breath hitches whenever he stares down at me, his dull eyes fueled with some flame of emotion, and I can't decipher what it is. Hope, perhaps? "We're going to continue training as usual. I'll inform Hanji and Erwin of the ordeal, and we'll figure out what we need to do."

"I would train her with the vertical maneuvering gear alone, seeing as she doesn't have memory of training with it before. We're unaware what she's capable of," Mike suggests to Levi, to which he nods in agreement.

"Resume training as if nothing has happened," he says. "But this time, go easy on each other."

"Yes, sir," the two of us say, saluting him.

_What the hell is going on with me? Who am I?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It's probably around 6 pm whenever I finally look up from my book. In the mess hall, people swarm around with whispers, eyes darting between Mike and me. Everyone seemed shocked at my skills with hand-to-hand combat, and hell, I can't blame them. I surprised myself, the term myself being subjective. According to Mike, I'm not myself whenever I attack, but trying to process that idea in my head makes my situation all the more confusing.

So, in a way to somehow ease the confusion, I have been reading about the history of the walls and the titans for the rest of the day. I've been excluded from the Vertical Maneuvering Gear training since Levi wants to train me alone, so I've been spending my free time going through texts. My knowledge of humanity's history has increased, though I'm not sure how accurate the history is. Humans seem ignorant, or at least, that's what I've gathered from my own mind. We know nothing about the origins of the Wall or the origins of titans.

"Oi, are you gonna quit being a nerd?" Derrick asks me with a mouth full of potatoes. I grimace at him, making him laugh. "You've been reading all day. History sucks and titans suck. End of story."

"Maybe she's trying to find a reason to actually go on expeditions," Hagan says, and the tinge of sarcasm makes me smile softly. "Why fight for something you're clueless about?"

"Trust me." Derrick waves his spoon in the air, pointing it at me. A bit of soup spirals off of the silver, causing a small splatter on the book I was reading. With a frown, I quickly pull the book away, pushing it towards Lauren.

"Way to go dumbass," I roll my eyes. "These ancient things don't belong to me. You're destroying Survey Corps property."

"Ah, shut up!" He smirks at me, seeing through my falseness. "You don't care. You already read through the same thing hundreds of times. Trust me. Once you see the titans for yourself, you won't need a textbook definition to express your feelings."

"He's right," Lauren pipes up after moments of silence, causing all of our heads to turn towards her in shock. Her face holds a calm, dull expression as she looks directly at Derrick. "The only thing we need textbooks for is to try and define what a Derrick Williams is. Is he an animal? A savage?"

"The world may never know," I say with a giggle. Derrick simply glares at all of us as we laugh, though he knows we mean no harm.

"Riley!" Hanji comes out of nowhere (which is a reoccurring thing with her,) and approaches our table. We all flinch when she slams her hands on the table, leaning forward in my direction. I have to pull my face back so I'm not nose-to-nose with the crazy woman.

"Hello, Hanji," I say casually, while the others have wide eyes. I guess they don't know Hanji as well as I do. "What's up?"

"We have a lot to discuss!" She announces. I allow her to grab my arm and tug me up, but I do question why. Frankly, I'm not starving, but I still want to sip on my tea, seeing as it's my favorite drink around this place. "You can bring your tea with you! Come sit with us, we need to talk about your lovely eyes!"

"Can't this wait until later," I huff, yet stand up regardless. My three friends just chuckle at my expense as I give them pleading eyes, as if they can protect me from the dangers of Hanji's interests. Lauren just waves and throws a wink in my direction, seeing as I'm being taken to the table seating both Levi and Commander Erwin. I can just hear her now, taunting me about seducing the two highest ranked soldiers in this building.

"There's no time to wait when it comes to science!" Hanji sings as we approach the table. I try not to turn red when I'm forcibly seated, as the people sitting at the table are all very skilled individuals. Across from me is Levi, with the commander to his left and Petra to his right. Petra is a part of Levi's squad, which is apparently home to some of the most elite soldiers in the military. Oluo, Gunther, and Eld are also included in this mix. And to my right is Mike, with Nanaba and other members of Mike's squad that I have yet to learn by name.

"Hello, Riley," Erwin is the first to speak, as everyone else watches with cautious, yet inquiring eyes.

"Hello Commander," I return, smiling kindly. The man returns to business almost immediately, wasting no time to explain my situation.

"I was told about your excelling training today," He says. I can hear the heedful expression in voice. My eyes follow his large hands as he folds them, placing them just below his mouth. The eye contact is daunting. "Levi and I have decided that we will train you with the vertical maneuvering equipment separately, seeing as we don't have the basic training equipment to teach you the basics."

"I see," I say tediously, bringing my teacup up to my lips. Frankly, I do this to hide my face from the interesting stares I'm receiving by all the troops.

"We'll begin tomorrow morning while the rest of the regiment works with each other on hand-to-hand combat," Erwin continues, but I find it hard to listen to when I'm too focused on his big ass eyebrows. I then try to imagine other people with his luscious brows and almost make myself laugh at the images in my head.

"That sounds good to me," I cough slightly, trying to maintain my composure. They'd surely think I'm insane if I started laughing out of nowhere. "Er...am I excused now?"

"Don't be silly!" An unfamiliar voice disrupts the conversation, and a few heads turn to face the culprit. Petra is staring right at me, a warm smile on her face. I've seen her around, but she's never made any attempts at talking to me until now. "I'm sure that since you catch the eyes of the commander and captain, we'll be seeing more of each other. We should get to know you."

I bite my lip at her words, not sure what to say. Peering back over my shoulders, I see Derrick, Hagan, and Lauren staring right at me. A small groan escapes from my mouth when Derrick and Lauren are making kissy faces, wiggling their eyebrows at me. With pink cheeks, I face the others, who have clearly witnessed my idiot friends.

"Sure," I say with a small, embarrassed sigh. Petra tries not to smile too big, most likely trying to laugh, and Levi just raises his eyebrow at me, his lips in a straight line.

For the next thirty minutes, I'm conversing with the group of people I thought I would never be chatting up, and surprisingly, it's quite pleasant. Petra is very kind to me and even tries to help out when Hanji bombards me with hundreds of questions about my eyes and body. Mike reveals a new side to him with the way he talks to Nanaba, a woman with short blonde hair and pretty eyes. His words are softer, and the smiles they exchange make me wonder what kind of emotions they hold for each other. It makes me a little jealous if I'm being honest.

"So you really have no memory of your life?" Oluo throws out the question in a seemingly bored kind of way. All the conversations at the table start to die down, seeing as not many people come around with full-blown amnesia.

"Er, yeah," I say with a shrug. Why does everyone have to constantly look at me…

"So how do you remember how to speak and all that?" Oluo continues, leaning in closer. "I mean, it's weird how you remember stuff like that...and your name and age."

"Oh hush, Oluo," Petra scolds, giving him a soft glare before smiling apologetically at me. "Sorry about him, he doesn't think about the feelings of others sometimes."

_Like some people I know_, I think to myself, glancing at Levi. He just watches the conversation, his arms folded on the table. When he notices my stare, his eyes meet mine. It's like he's staring deep into my soul while also staring at nothing, and it's a little creepy.

"No, it's okay," I tell Petra, diverting my attention to her. "I've been asked the question so many times that it doesn't bother me anymore."

"So, what's the verdict?" Oluo pushes his question once more. I have to answer it, seeing as everyone seems intrigued...especially Hanji, whose elbows are about to fall right in her soup from leaning so close to me.

"I can remember some things," I explain. "Like my name and age, obviously. But I never have any real memory with anything else. However, I do get these...feelings sometimes that hit me, like I've done a current task before."

"How do you mean?" Erwin chimes in, also beginning to lean forward. I almost blush again.

"Like, taking cleaning for example." I close my eyes to try and picture the feeling I got those weeks ago. "As I was scrubbing the floors, I got the feeling that I've used stronger cleaning products before, and the feeling of being on my hands and knees cleaning hits me, making me wonder how often I cleaned before losing my memory."

"Interesting!" Hanji breaths. Her eyes begin to twinkle. "What other situations?"

"Well…" I bring my hand to my chin, contemplating for a moment. "There was the time with a piano I found in the basement."

Levi perks up slightly at this, no longer focused on looking down at his tea. He focuses on me once more, making me question that night he caught me and Lauren snooping down in the basement. Why does he seem interested now?

"We have a piano?" Petra hums.

"I guess so," I shrug. "Either way, the moment I started touching the keys, something inside of me kind of took over, and I played. I played and sang a song by heart on the damn thing, and I have no idea how I remembered it. Obviously, it had come from my past, but I can't picture in my head where it could have come from."

"That sounds frustrating," Petra says with a sympathetic smile. Levi continues to stare, making me feel a little uncomfortable in my seat. His eyes are unreadable.

"It's very frustrating," I agree softly as I fiddle with my cup. With a sad smile, I say, "But there's nothing I can do about it. All there is to do is live my life as it is until I remember who I am."

"And what if you never get your memory back?" Levi finally chimes in, causing heads to turn once more. His eyes never leave mine, however. He's actually curious to know my answer.

"I've already thought it through," I tell him with confidence present in my tone. Staring directly into his eyes, I answer. "If I don't regain my memory, I'm going to fight. I'm going to fight to find my purpose in this unfamiliar world. If I don't have a purpose now, I'm going to have to live in order to make my life have meaning. There's no way I'm going to die with no cause. My life doesn't have meaning right now, but it will. I'll make sure of it."

_I'll make sure of it_, I think to myself as the squad's expressions begin to carry admirability in them. And even though Levi masks his emotions for some purpose, I can see somewhere, in those cool metallic eyes, that he too respects my personal philosophy. He may be a pain in the ass, but his approval fills me with some sort of emotion. Accomplishment, perhaps… but maybe something greater.

* * *

"Steady there, Love," Erwin says to me. I blush a bit when he pulls up next to me on his horse, watching me with slightly amused eyes. Of course, out of all the surprising talents I have, horseback riding is not one of them.

"By the time we get to the training area, it'll be time for lunch," Levi mutters, a few feet ahead of me. I glare at his steady back, hoping he can feel the daggers. If it were just me and him, I'd give him a sassy remark.

Slowly but surely, we approach the course I'm supposed to be training on with the 3DM gear. The place is surrounded by trees, which is the best environment for the device. Hanji spent most of the morning going through the works about the technology used to defeat titans. Surprisingly, it isn't as complicated as I expected it to be. Sure, there are a lot of nuts and bolts, but I only need to know the important parts: Hand grips, piston-shot grapple-hooks, gas, iron wire propeller with plug-in blades. The hard part will be learning how to adapt to three-dimensional movements, and since my aptitude hasn't been tested, no one really knows what the outcome will be.

"This looks like a good place to start," Levi says quietly. The three of us stop our trek upon the sight of a tree with low hanging branches.

"Here?" I question softly. Levi nods before pointing to a branch that looks to be a couple of meters off the ground.

"This branch is the lowest we're going to find for the first step of training," he states. "We're going to see if you can maintain your balance while you're grappled. That's usually the make or break when cadets try to join the military."

"Don't they spend, like, three years of training to work on their 3DM skills?" I ask apprehensively. Levi's icy eyes are trained on me, watching my reaction.

"We've formulated a hypothesis," Erwin cuts in. I force my eyes away from Levi to face the commander. "You've shown strength whenever you need it, even without any remembrance of training. We know of no prior training in your history, but every time you needed to excel in a situation, you've done so."

"Er...thanks?" I mumble softly. It's weird getting compliments from everyone all of a sudden, especially the commander.

"Quit your blushing," Levi chides as he watches my face heat with color. "If you can't handle straight facts without getting emotional, then that's pretty pathetic."

"That's coming from someone who doesn't show any hint of emotion at all," I utter crossly. He scowls at this, and I try to suppress my smirk. "I apologize, Captain."

"Tch. Let's just get back to what we were doing before I punish you," he growls.

"As I was saying," Erwin's expression is sterner after the little quarrel the captain and I shared, shutting me up quickly. "Though you're not in any real danger with us, we're hoping that your strength will come back and take over. That way we can truly assess what you're capable of."

Peering at the branch, a nervous feeling overcomes my body, adrenaline coursing through my veins. Perhaps that's what causes my body to govern my own thoughts. Adrenaline. It reminds me of the time I was racing Derrick and Hagan over to Levi's office, the high propelling my legs to move at an incredible rate.

It's that thought that fuels me, boosting my confidence. I hop off the horse, landing on my feet with ease. Levi and Erwin raise their brows at me, but I ignore them as I walk towards the branch, a dedicated gleam hiding within my eyes. The gear has already been situated on my body, with straps and wires strategically covering my body for support. Aim, grapple, gas. Aim, grapple, gas.

I squeeze the triggers of the gear as I aim towards the branch. The hooks dig themselves into the tree, and then I use the gas to propel myself in the direction I aimed for. Once my feet lift off the ground, a new feeling arises. And it's amazing. Without a second thought, I allow my body to take me where I want to go, my balance more than capable to withstand the strain of gliding through the air.

"Riley!" Erwin shouts as I grapple to a nearby tree. He must be worried that I'm disregarding the original plan of trying to stay upright, but I knew that I wouldn't need it as soon as the adrenaline hit.

_Screw it if I get in trouble. I can handle a bit of chores._

I feel like a bird, soaring through the sky with the benevolent gear granting me access to new heights. A small laugh escapes my lips as I hook to a more distant tree, pulling me further into the woods. The sound of Levi cursing and grappling to the previous tree barely reaches my threshold of awareness, but I chose to ignore him chasing after me. It's time to see what the hell I'm capable of.

The trail I decide to follow leads me towards the first obstacles that Hanji had taught me, which are the wooden titans. Glancing back, I see Levi approaching me with squinted eyes, his hair wisping behind him in an attractive manner. He's gaining quickly, so I decide to change my direction, grappling to my right. As I flip through the air, Levi shouts my name, but I ignore him. As I approach the wooden titan, I see the location I'm supposed to hit, which is the nape of the neck. With my teeth bared, I pull out the blades, surprised by how light they are.

"Let me find my purpose!" I shout at Levi as I kick my legs off a tree. He quickly hooks his wires next to mine on the same tree, gaining headway towards me.

"You're going to run out of gas, you stupid brat!" He shouts against the gusts of the wind. He's about fifteen feet away from me before I allow the gear to pull me towards the titan. With my blades gripped tightly in my hand, I let out a yell before gyrating towards the wooden titan, slicing a deep cut in the material during the middle of my spin. I grin at my success, peering at Levi, who watches in shock at my damage. My sword had ripped through the material on the neck and even caused the wood to crack a bit.

I go to project myself on another tree, but as they attach, the gas chamber doesn't release, so I find myself falling directly towards the tree. A small gasp falls from my mouth as I prepare myself for a straight collision with the damn thing, seeing as the wires won't recoil into my gear. As the tree grows closer and closer, I squeeze my eyes shut and prepare for pain…but it never comes.

A strong pair of arms wrap around my waist, pulling me against a muscular chest. When I peak my eyes open, my face is buried into Levi's neck. He faces forward with a blank expression, pulling the two of us towards the side of the tree. I squeeze onto his shirt for dear life, trying my best to tame the fire burning within my chest. I can feel his heartbeat against my cheek coming from his warm neck, and it's calm.

"You masochist," Levi chastises once the swaying has stopped. He looks down at me, lips literally centimeters away from my own. Although he is cool and collective, my heart rattles, and I know he can feel it as my breasts press against his chest. "Don't think you'll get out of this without being reprimanded."

"I-I…" I pull away slightly, too overwhelmed by the warmth of his breath as the minty smell floods my senses. If he thought I was blushing earlier, I can't imagine what he's thinking about at this moment.

"Riley." The commander's voice sounds below the two of us, and I quickly peer down to see Erwin, jumping off of his horse to stand underneath of us. He looks to be about seven meters below, but even that far, he doesn't seem angry like Levi. "Your skills are incredible for your lack of training!"

"T-Thank you!" I shout so he can hear, making Levi grimace as I practically deafen him. It's his fault for pulling me so close to his face.

"I'll have to go up and manually retract your hooks," Levi mutters as he finally lets go of my body. A small squeal comes from my mouth as I begin to sway a meter or so away from him. "Stupid girl. You could have killed yourself being that reckless."

"Well I just wanted to-" I'm cut off from one of my hooks detaching from the tree, causing me to fall further away from him. "LEVI!"

"Shit," he curses, swinging over to reach for me. It's too late, however, and the second hook detaches itself from the tree, leaving me in a freefall. "Riley!"

My body somehow flips in a way to where I'm in a skydiving position, so I'm able to watch as the ground gets closer and closer. My thoughts are a blurred mess, and all I can do is stare as Erwin runs over to where my body is projected to fall. All he can do his hold his arms out and wait for impact.

And I impact.

My body knocks Erwin to the ground, causing him to land on his back with me on top of him. He obviously took the brunt of the fall, seeing as he grunts once we both land. Thankfully, the fall was only a couple of meters, so he doesn't sustain any serious injuries, but I'm still pressed up against him, too in shock to move. The commander's arms are still around me as he opens his eyes, a large scowl present in his features. I take in his disheveled appearance as I press my hands against his chest. Seeing his hair tangled and scattered with leaves in it, and the dirt in his face makes me do something stupid.

I laugh. I laugh really fucking hard.

Levi has finally hopped down from the tree, now walking up to me and the confused commander, whom I'm resting on top of. Erwin raises his eyebrows at me, which are large enough to get a small leaf stuck in them, only causing me to laugh harder. Finally, a small smile begins to form on his lips.

"You are insane," Levi mutters as he watches the scene unfold. I sit up, legs still around Erwin's stomach and I hold my belly from laughing so hard.

"I'm glad to see that you find your near death experience humourous," Erwin says, surprisingly amused. "If you were any heavier, I'm sure the impact would have ended in injury."

"S-Sorry Commander!" I giggle softly, pulling the damned leaf out of his eyebrow. With a posh accent, I tell him, "I do say, the disheveled look certainly suits you!"

"And cleaning duty will suit you," he replies as he begins to regain his composure.

"Cleaning duty for a week," Levi spits, obviously not finding anything funny. I finally suppress my laughter and roll off of the commander. For some reason, I don't feel embarrassed about straddling the man. It may be due to my body trying to comprehend the whirlwind of emotions it has encountered in the last five minutes.

"Yes, sir!" I say with a lopsided grin, giving him a salute.

Erwin eventually does become stern again as we ride back to the stables. He tells me that I shouldn't have disobeyed orders, even though he's extremely impressed with how I handled myself before running out of gas. I just couldn't help it. I felt so free gliding through the woods as if it were second nature. I've been feeling so entrapped the last few weeks, and I managed to smile and laugh without a care in the world for a few moments. Using my blades to destroy the wooden titan also allowed me to express my pent in aggression. It was exhilarating. I want to soak it all in before the opportunity arises and I'll be forced to use my freedom to actually kill.

Until then, I'm going to savor every moment here. I'm going to actually live my life.

* * *

**I'm so thankful for those that enjoy my story! It really makes me happy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Oi, you missed a spot," Levi's voice rings through my ears as he sips on his tea in his desk chair. His eyes hold nothing but amusement as I glare at him, gripping the broom with deathly tight hands.

"There isn't a damn spot to miss in this office considering that it's yours!" I snap, causing him to simply smirk. It's a first to see him with anything but a frown etched on his pouty perfect face, but I'm not amused in the slightest. "This is the third day cleaning this room, Captain. I honestly believe that I learned my lesson."

"Which is?" He hums, taking the last sip of his tea. The man has been giving me shit ever since that whole fiasco just days ago…

"I won't disobey your orders," I sigh, hating to admit defeat. His eyes trail over my face as I place my hands at the tip of the broom, resting my chin on top as I stare. It's a little rousing to have him look at me the way that he is right now, without a stern expression, seemingly calm. This punishment is the first time the two of us have ever been alone, and it's as if he's more comfortable this way.

"Did you even 'find your purpose' when you shouted at me for trying to stop you?" He questions me, and I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or not.

"No…" I say honestly.

"So disobeying our orders was for nothing?" He leans back in his chair, folding his arms. I stare at his muscles with a small blush. Damn, he is an attractive asshole.

"No," I mutter again, taking my chin off of the broom. "If I hadn't of done what I did, I would've been forced to dangle from a tree branch for hours on end. Sure, I'm being reprimanded, but at least I got to see how strong and able I am with the 3DM gear."

"Hm." His eyes dig into mine, entering my soul. "So be it. Why don't you go fetch some tea and then we'll call it a night. Tonight."

"You're going to get cavities from all of this damn tea," I groan. Nonetheless, I comply as an excuse to get out of the stuffy room for a few minutes.

Placing the broom in its rightful place, I give a nod to Levi, who just watches me as I exit the room. The moment I'm in the hallway, a small sigh of relief escapes my lips. His presence makes me feel like all of my insecurities and thoughts are out in the open, making it hard to breathe. As suffocating as he is, however, being in his presence without being scolded or referred to as 'brat' or 'idiot' is refreshing. These juxtaposing emotions add for a whirlwind of feelings when it comes to the Captain.

_He saw you as a threat_, I think to myself as I enter the kitchen, walking over to the tea resting on a shelf. _He left you to die, refused to help you as you could hardly stand due to deprivation._

My hands work almost mechanically as I reach for the tea leaves provided to the military, putting some into the teapot before going over to the fire to boil some water. I've been doing this for the past few days, so I maneuvered the kitchen with ease.

_He slammed you against the wall for not using his correct title._

Once the water is brought to a boil, I carry it back to the counter and pour it into the pot, giving it a few minutes to mix with the tea leaves, allowing the concoction to sit. The captain doesn't like his tea mixed with any additives, which is apparently due to the lack of funds available to put towards milk or sugar. He's simply grown accustomed, but if I get my hands on some flavorful tea, I'll be sure to use it just to see if he'll show any kind of surprising emotion.

_He lent you several of his shirts. He saved you from a near death experience. He protected you._

My stomach begins to grumble, even though dinner was a couple of hours ago. If I'm hungry now, Levi must be starving. He's been in his office all day, completing paperwork upon paperwork. So, against my better judgment, I decide to prepare something for him. With the limited resources I have, I get to work.

The next ten minutes consists of me chopping some potatoes, carrots, and celery. I mix the vegetables into some chicken broth that I have already begun heating up, mixing them together. Though salt and pepper is limited, I figure I would just purchase some more once I get my first stipend and add some to the mixture. Already it looks more flavorful than the soup we usually get served. For some final touches, I add just a bit of basil and a hint of thyme. When I taste my creation, my eyes widen at the mouthwatering flavor. It's been almost a month since I've been here, and this is probably the tastiest thing that I've had.

With a confident smirk, I pour two cups of tea, as well as two bowls of soup. I place the items on a silver tray and exit the kitchen before anything gets cold. Although Levi is kind of a jerk, I anticipate his reaction in my mind as I carefully walk up the stairs. When I walk down the corridor and towards his office, I'm thankful that the door is cracked, so I can kick it softly with ease.

"Took you long enough…" Levi began to speak, not looking up from his paperwork. The moment he smells the soups, however, he shuts his mouth and looks up at me. His eyes soften a bit, though not enough for the average person to realize. "What's this?"

"It's soup!" _Ya dumbass…_ With a sheepish grin, I walk up to his desk and place the tray down in the limited amount of free space available. He eyes the soup with an unreadable expression. "I figured that since you skipped out on dinner, I would make something."

"I see…" He makes no move to pick up his bowl, so I roll my eyes softly before picking it up and placing it down in front of him, scooting his paper to the side. I make sure not to crinkle the paper, seeing as he will probably lose his shit.

"I didn't poison it or anything," I say jokingly, though a hint of annoyance is present in my tone. Silly of me to think he would seem thankful for what I have done. "If you won't eat it, I will."

"You brought yourself a bowl," he mutters as he begrudgingly reaches for the spoon on the tray. He notices my excited face and lets out a small scoff. "Are you going to just watch me eat?"

"Yes," I smirk, reaching for my own bowl. I take a seat in the chair on the opposite side of his desk, basking in the warmth of the soup. "I want to see what you think of my cooking."

"Tsk, you sound like a housewife," he says, but nonetheless digs his spoon into the broth, gently bringing it to his mouth. I bite my lip in anticipation as he takes a bite, almost bursting into a grin when his eyebrows lift in surprise. There's no way he can disguise that look.

"Is it absolutely repulsive?" I snigger before taking a bite of my own soup, once again basking in the flavor. He doesn't respond with words, but rather takes another bite. And another. And another.

"It's good," he says plainly, though I can hear the appraisal in his voice. "How much of the spices did you use? Those don't come by very often, you know."

"I didn't use as much as you'd expect," I shrug as I continue watching him eat. "I used a bit of salt and pepper, though. I'll be sure to buy it back when I get my first paycheck."

"Hm." He nods, finishing the last bit of the broth before my very eyes. It looks like he wants to lick the damn bowl.

"Do you want the rest of mine?" I tease, though I'm literal with the question. The captain looks at my half-eaten bowl with slight interest, but then he quickly falls back into his blank, lackluster expression.

"I don't eat after people," he says plainly, reaching for his teacup. My mischievous side gets the best of me as I watch him take a sip of the drink, and without a second thought I say,

"Ah, that's too bad. I spit in the soup before giving it to you."

Without hesitation, Levi spews all of the tea out of his mouth, thankfully mostly onto the platter. His eyes are wide and his mouth is hung open, causing me to burst out into full-blown laughter. Once he realizes that it was a joke, he gives me a harsh glare, only making me laugh harder. My face is beet red as I do one of those 'laugh-so-hard-you-can't-breathe-and-have-to-do-a-silent-laugh' types of laughter.

"Y-Your face!" I finally manage to say after a good minute or so of me clapping my hands. "I can't breathe!"

"Maybe I should of let you hit that tree," he grumbles, though I know, through his stoic expression, he has some flickers of amusement dancing through his eyes.

"Maybe so," I manage to say through a tight-lipped smile, trying my best not to let out another fit of giggles. "Instead, you had to let the legacy of being known as 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier' live on."

"I didn't want to have to be forced with cleaning up your filthy guts."

"Maybe you just wanted an excuse to hold my hot body," I tease with a wiggle of my eyebrows. Where the hell all of this confidence is coming from, I have no idea, but the captain just continues to stare at me blankly. "Ah, I'm just kidding, obviously."

"Obviously," he repeats, folding his hands in front of his face. He looks at me curiously, and by now I'm done with my laughing fit. "It's late, and you have training in the morning. Tomorrow during lunch, you'll be cleaning the tea stains out of the carpet that you made me spew out."

"What!" I sit up, giving him a pout. "That's not fair! It's not my fault you couldn't keep it in your mouth!"

"It is your fault," he says. "It's an order. Now go to bed."

"Fine," I mutter, standing up. Without a second thought, I go over to the tray and collect all of the bowls and utensils, leaving nothing but his teacup on the counter. "I'm going to wash these dishes first if that's okay. I hate leaving dishes out overnight, even if someone else will clean them in the morning."

"That's fine, Love," he nods his head dismissively, his eyes trailing back to his paperwork. I can't help but smirk a little bit when he says my last name purely due to protocol. It sounds like is calling me a pet name, like we're married or something. Though that won't happen in a million years, it's still humorous.

"Goodnight, love," I tease him as I walk towards the door, causing his eyes to widen a bit once more. With one last giggle, I shake my head. "I mean Captain."

I don't wait to see his reaction, seeing as my cheeks are heating up themselves. Being this bold is something that I'm not used to, but seeing moments of vulnerability in Levi's eyes, just a bit of humanity, was enough to make me feel comfortable. It wasn't flirting, was it? No, Levi has no time for flirting. I just did it for laughs. He's my superior now, and I am practically a stranger to him. Though I have yet to see the death of any of my comrades, I'm sure he has seen plenty of death. This is no place for flirting. But still...who knows if I'll be able to share any more moments with him like this?

* * *

Lauren and I are lucky to get paired up for morning training, which is always hand-to-hand. Next week, however, will be training for the formation Erwin has been working on for several years, which will be used outside of The Walls. I have no idea whether or not I'll be a part of the next expedition, but I can tell that apprehension is starting to fill the hearts of the unit, though they try their best to hide it.

"How was last night cleaning for the captain?" Lauren questions as she lunges at me. I dodge it, though not as swiftly as with Mike. My adrenaline isn't high right now, but I remember my fluid motions from when my body took over.

"It was the same as usual," I shrug as I swing a punch in her direction, watching with approving eyes as she manages to pull away from most of the force. The thought of one of my close friends getting sent out into danger makes me a little uneasy, so I decide to distract myself with conversation. "Though I made him soup."

"Really!" She grins mid kick, and due to her distractions with my words, I manage to grab her by the ankle and flip her, but she manages to land gracefully on her feet. "Oi! I wasn't ready! Tell me more about last night. Did he like it?"

"Yes," I giggle. "He barely spoke as he ate the whole thing in less than two minutes."

"Men love a woman who can cook," she teases, causing me to roll my eyes. She put my lack of focus to her advantage and sent a punch to my chest, causing me to wince a bit. It was in no shape or form as hard as Mike's, but It was still a punch.

"Nice one," I grunt, earning a hopeful smile from her. "Besides, you said so yourself that the captain has never been a relationship before. There's probably a reason besides the fact that he's a prick most of the time."

"But you're not opposing the idea of wanting to date him," she pesters. To stop her from going any further on the topic, I kick her in the shin, causing her to fall to the ground with a grunt. "Touche…"

"That didn't hurt too bad, did it?" I question as she stands up, making her laugh.

"It's supposed to hurt, silly," she says. "We're actually going too easy on each other. Derrick just got a bloody nose!"

I turn towards the direction of Derrick, seeing Hagan has just tackled him to the ground, sending a blow to his face. "How the hell can best friends hurt each other like that…"

"It's just the daily part of life in the Survey Corps," Lauren says before I feel her foot slam into my lower back. I fall to the ground in a small heap, spitting out blades of grass that managed to enter my mouth. "Look, Captain Levi is looking right at you!"

"I can't look with my face in the fucking dirt!" I grunt before rolling to my front, seeing that the captain is, in fact, looking at the two of us. The moment we make eye contact, he doesn't falter, seeing as he is riding around on his horse, making him a spectacle for many to see. Without a second hesitation, I swipe my leg under Lauren's feet, causing her to lose balance, giving me the perfect opportunity to throw myself upward and knock her down.

"Eh?!" She whines as I place my weight on top of her, which frankly isn't much. Despite my attack, she still smirks. "Trying to impress him now, I see."

"I don't like him," I mutter, watching Levi as he slowly turns his face away, emotionless. With a small sigh, I add, "And there's no time to romance in this line of the military."

"Whatever," she huffs, eventually pushing me off of her. "Want me to change the subject?"

"Yes please," I say, dusting the dirt off of my shirt.

"Well, there's a little party tonight," she says, respecting my decision. The mention of a party makes me raise my brows out of curiosity. "With the formation training starting tomorrow, people get all tense thinking about the next expedition. So, we kind of organize the mess hall into this party kind of scene with alcohol and stuff. Most of the unit shows up, and it's actually pretty fun."

I'm about to respond, but then Levi trots up to us, a stern look on his features. Immediately, Lauren tenses up, but I stay composed. "Oi. You two brats are supposed to be in each other's faces. Not gossiping like a bunch of housewives."

"Yes, sir!" Lauren and I chant, immediately ceasing our conversation. There's no emotion dancing in Levi's eyes like they were last night, filling me with a little bit of disappointment. He simply clicks his tongue and moves along, surveying the rest of the regime.

"I'll go," I whisper to her as we go back into our defensive poses. She grins at this as she knocks me in the jaw.

After a few more hours of training, I walk away from the rest of the unit, remembering the dreaded task of getting the tea stains out of Levi's rug. My stomach grumbles at the thought of missing lunch, but I rather go hungry than hear shit from the captain. Much to my surprise, when I enter the familiar office, Levi is in there, already seated, with two sandwiches and two cups of tea placed on his desk.

"Captain!" I place my hand on my chest, startled to find him casually in here. "I thought you would be in the mess hall?"

"You get as startled as a mouse," he says, ignoring my comment. "I want to make sure you don't do a half-assed job at cleaning. You can eat when you're done."

"Er… alright," I mumble, walking over to the cleaning supplies already laid out. My confidence from last night is long gone, and now I tense up as he watches me get onto my knees in front of his desk. The awkward silence is killing me, though he seems to be peaceful looking over paperwork, sipping on his tea. My stomach grows at the smell of the food, so I quickly get to work.

I strip off my jacket and unbutton the top of my shirt, just enough to reveal my collarbone and release some sweat from training earlier. Levi notices the shirt as I dip my hand into the soapy bucket, reaching for the scrubbing sponge.

"You've gotten my shirt stained," he mutters, inspecting the grass stains as I begin to scrub the rug. My cheeks heat as he continues to watch me.

"I didn't think you wanted it back," I grunt sheepishly, watching as the stain slowly lifts up.

"I don't. It's still a shame to see some nice cotton go to waste."

"My apologies, _Captain_, " I say to him. He lets out a small scoff at my slight derision but stays quiet nonetheless. As I continue to scrub, my mind ventures back to what Lauren was discussing as we trained. "Hey, Levi? What can you tell me about the little party tonight?"

"Party," he says quietly. I glance up and see him staring down at his desk with no particular look. "I wouldn't know. I haven't been to one of those stupid things in a couple of years."

"What makes it stupid?" I pout softly as I stand up, walking towards his desk. He watches me as I sit down in the same chair as last night, leaning forward to reach for the sandwich that is causing my hunger pains.

"Who said you were done cleaning?" He leans back, placing one arm against the armrest of his chair, the other supporting his chin with his hand. Hey eyes me up and down as I shrug.

"The stain is gone, and I'm hungry," I say before taking a bite of the sandwich, nearly moaning at the taste.

"Brat," he sighs, reaching for his tea. "It's stupid because it just causes everyone to get hangovers, which is a useless waste of time that could be spent on cleaning or training."

"Yeah, but tomorrow is our day off, so we don't technically have to do that stuff," I tell him, nearly spilling food out of my mouth. He grimaces slightly, reaching for a napkin on the tray and throwing it my way.

"You're disgusting."

"Hey, I wonder if I could bring that piano up here and play some music for the party, seeing as there isn't any kind of music up here anyway," I say, ignoring his petty remark. He tenses slightly at the mention of the piano once again, but I pretend that I don't notice. "Can I bring it up? Please, Levi?"

"I don't give a shit," he says reproachfully. "Just as long as you call me by my correct title. Set a good example for your friends, would you?"

"Please," I roll my eyes. "They'd be scared shitless if they called you by your first name. It's real funny to see them sweat when you approach."

"I bet you sweat too, don't you?" He jeers, causing me to blush. Damn it. I blush way too much.

"Only when training and such," I say dismissively, waving my hand around. "You get real scary during training. You're much nicer here."

"I can be just as intimidating now if you'd prefer, Love."

"Ah ha," I give a bashful grin. "That's alright! Heh, maybe I should go now, since I'm done with my duties."

Levi sits up, watching me with a hint of mischief in his eyes. My eyes trace his every movement as his calloused hand reaches for the sandwich in front of him, tearing off a piece of the bread and holding it over the carpet. My jaw falls slack as he starts to crumble the bread into tiny pieces, scattering them all around the floor. With hooded eyes, he takes a sip of tea before speaking.

"You missed a spot, Love."


End file.
